Mardi Gras has Begun!

Mardi Gras has begun! I wonder if Southerners have less problems with the post-Christmas depression that you hear about on the news? We don't have time for depression. As soon as New Year's Day is out of the way, we are getting ready for Mardi Gras.

The excitement in the air is static! From the convenience stores to WalMart, you can find beads, Moon Pies, and other items for "throws." We rush to our computers or to the newspapers to choose which parades we will watch, out of the dozens to see during the Mardi Gras season.

Mardi Gras begins on January 6th, on the day that we celebrate the Twelfth Night, when the three "kings" (Magi, actually) visited Jesus. The colors of Mardi Gras are gold, green, and purple. The colors stand for gold, frankincense, and myrrh, which are the three gifts that were given by the Magi to Jesus. Mardi Gras ends on "Fat Tuesday," the date of which changes every year and will be on February 8th this year. All of the local schools close on Fat Tuesday and there are over a dozen parades within a 30-mile radius just on that day alone.

Today, we took the children to a beautiful parade called "Crewe de Spaniards." The floats were breathtaking, in bright colors. They had faces of dragons and other "monsters". In between the floats were musicians or school bands or dance troops, to supply music as the parade rolled on.

We were able to get a huge shopping bag full of throws,. Each of our necks was weighed down with dozens of beads. Alyssa Belle, our 1yo, was thrown two teddy bears, lucky girl! The kids picked up plastic cups, plastic toys, Moon Pies, and candy.

Mardi Gras has such a bad reputation when you only hear about the filth in the parades that New Orleans attracts. But here in South Alabama and Northwest Florida, it is a time of family togetherness with good, clean fun.

What a beautiful day we had!

Here is more Mardi Gras history, from Mobile, Alabama's site. Mobile hosted the very first Mardi Gras - yes, even before New Orleans. I like this quote from the article: It has been said that the people of Mobile love Carnival, Mardi Gras, and parades to the extreme that if a catastrophe left only two survivors, on the next Mardi Gras one would be costumed and in the street, beating a drum and carrying a banner; the other would be standing aside in costume, hollering, “Throw me something mister.”