A Short
History of Mardi Gras
Most
everyone knows that Mardi Gras is French for Fat Tuesday, but did
you know that the first Mardi Gras to be held in the United States
was in Mobile, Alabama? Mardi Gras is officially the last day of
Carnival, the three day period before the beginning of Lent. These
days most people think of the entire three day period as Mardi Gras.
This
was not true for the Le Moyne brothers who were sent by King Louis
XIV to defend France's claim on the territory of Louisiana, which
included what are now the U.S. states of Alabama, Mississippi, and
Louisiana. One of the brothers founded the settlement of Mobile,
Alabama in 1702 as the capital of French Louisiana, and in 1703 the
Mardi Gras tradition began with celebrations by French settlers in
that city. When the capital was moved to New Orleans in 1723 the
tradition moved with it and grew to the point where today when we
think Mardi Gras, we think New Orleans.
It
wasn't just the overall tradition itself that moved from Mobile to
New Orleans. Mobile continued, and continues to influence how Mardi
Gras is celebrated in New Orleans, Mobile's Cowbellion de Rakin
Society was the first formally organized and masked mystic society
in the United States to celebrate with a parade in 1830. The idea of
parading societies was exported to New Orleans in 1856 by six
businessmen from Mobile.
The
Mobile Carnival Museum tells the story of the history of the local
tradition and how it has influenced the tradition throughout the
area. The fact that the Dynasty Collection has several pieces
included in the museum's collection illustrates the high quality
work they do and the important place they have in Mardi Gras
history.
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