So, since my weekend was spent in Mobile, I figured Mardi Gras would be a good topic for this week.
First, a little back-story for the uninitiated:
Mardi Gras is a celebration leading up to Ash Wednesday, or the start of Lent, a Christian custom that includes fasting from certain foods. It originated as a way to use perishable goods, such as eggs and milk, before Lent. It ballooned into huge celebrations in various locales.
As for Mobile's Mardi Gras, it is thought to be the oldest American city to celebrate Mardi Gras in an organized fashion. The celebration, in modern times, includes both parades and balls. Parades are a big deal in Mobile, and have "secret" society members decorate elaborate floats and throw beads, plushies, and small snacks to the hordes on the side of the street. The more fantasy part of Mardi Gras is the masquerade balls. Many of these are held in Mobile, and they are invitation only. The society members all wear masks and generally party. They are very secretive even today.
I hope this informs people of how Mardi Gras is celebrated today!
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Thanks for the info. I went to New Orleans this weekend. I like listening to people from Mobile and New Orleans argue about Mardi Gras. I think the accepted facts are Mobile celebrated it first, but New Orleans has the bigger party. I've never been to Mobile's Mardi Gras though.
ReplyDeleteHaha, go Mobile! Of course being from the area, I'm biased. But yes, Mardi Gras has such a rich history. I think Joe Cain day is even more interesting than people realize. While Joe Cain brought Mardi Gras back after the depression (which may not be that interesting), the way in which that day is celebrated definitely is.
ReplyDeleteBy the way, for football and Mardi Gras fans. Jamarkus Russell (I don't know if I spelled his name right) was king of Mardi Gras this year in Mobile.
ReplyDeleteThe dress for such balls and Mardi Gras "royalty" is very remarkable. So much money is spent during this holiday (which it is to them, we never had school during Mardi Gras because it was Mardi Gras holidays) Mobile has its own Mardi Gras museum housing robes and dresses dating way back. In elementary school, visiting the museum was a popular field trip.
New Orleans and Mobile Mardi Gras is celebrated a little differently. In Mobile, it is much more family oriented (at parades at least) and debauchery and under aged drinking is normally met with arrests from the multitude of cops. I have never been to New Orleans for Mardi Gras, but I hear they don't just jump in the air when they want beads ;)
ReplyDeleteDaniel and Charlie, you need to tell us (some of) what you yourselves experienced at Mardi Gras this year. Tell us what we missed. Testify!
ReplyDeleteDeirdra, you need to tell everyone more about Joe Cain Day.
As for myself, my wife, and two of our friends, we really just went down to enjoy some parades and Mobile. My wife grew up in Mobile and I lived there for three years while attending the Alabama School of Math and Science, so this was obviously not my first parade. We were able to go to the children's parades (all children on the floats, usually the children of various society members), the Mystics of Time parade (considered the best by many) and the Joe Cain Parade on Sunday. The adult parades are interesting because most people are masked. The Joe Cain parade was interesting to me because the beginning of the parade included a large group of veiled women marching as "Joe Cain's Mistresses: He loved us best!" followed by more veiled women riding a float as "Cain's merry widows." I will leave it to Deirdra to discuss why these groups are included.
ReplyDeleteIn general, the parades are a lot of fun just to go and catch things and see all the intricate floats. Although most of the stuff you catch is crap that you don't need, it is fun to catch it nonetheless. (Don't worry, I plan on offloading some of the beads in class tomorrow).
Haha Mardi Gras day in class! Yay! I'll bring some of my stuff too! I went the weekend before last. I absolutely love it!
ReplyDeleteThis post is a little late... I was actually in Mobile for Mardi Gras too as part of the MCA Mardi Gras Court. Talk about an interesting experience... I'm not really the party/ball/princess kind of girl, so it was an interesting experience for me. All of the dresses, robes, and costumes are amazing. You are right about the amount of money spent. It is almost disgusting As members of the court, we are expected to be properly dressed(girly suits, heels, kid gloves, and matching purse) at all day time functions. Everywhere we went we would be announced and have to walk in together(it all seemed really ridiculous to me) At night we dress in our Coronation attire(ball gown and robes etc.) and be formally presented and walk around the room and bow to the appropriate people. We all SEEMED very prim and proper.
ReplyDeleteThe funny part is that it was all just a show. MCA housed us in a motel next to the battle ship and provided us with a hospitality room filled with alcohol of all types, cigarettes, and snacks, and bartenders of course. It was definitely taken advantage of. Behind the scenes the court was basically a group of binge drinking college students. And our attire at the hotel was anything but proper- we ran around in PJ pants, flip flops, and over-sized T-shirts. The King could regularly be seen with out a shirt in only his pants from his costume. His head knight usually dressed similarly.
Late night in the hospitality room was definitely and interesting sight. The floor was covered in plastic, and very slippery. Girls falling, boys dipping their heads in the bathtub filled with ice and beer, and people dancing stupidly. Every time I walked into the hospitality room i couldn't help but notice that the rancid stench was very similar to the aroma of Gallettes.
All in all it was a great time, and we presented ourselves as royalty. I hope you enjoyed hearing about Mobile Mardi Gras from my perspective of the experience. I will try to post some pictures.