How Louisiana Celebrates Mardi Gras

While the rest of the world is decked out in pink, red and white for Valentine’s Day, Louisiana dresses up in purple, green and gold for Mardi Gras.

Mardi Gras – also known as Fat Tuesday – will take place on February 17 this year. The holiday occurs on the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent for Catholics. Lent is the 40-day period leading up to the Easter weekend when Catholics fast, pray and abstain from indulgences, such as drinking alcohol or eating meat.

In preparation for this daunting task, residents across the state of Louisiana (and other cities such as Mobile, Alabama and St. Louis, Missouri) are trying to cut slack from their plans while celebrating Mardi Gras.

How is Mardi Gras celebrated?

Rather than delve into the complicated origins of the holiday that can be traced back to ancient Europe, I’ll use my background as a Louisiana native to inform you of how we actually celebrate it.

Best illustrated by its unofficial motto “laissez les bon temps rouler,” which translates to “let the good times go,” Mardi Gras is all about letting loose and enjoying yourself. Louisiana, the only state where Mardi Gras is an official holiday, celebrates it in two different ways: the New Orleans way or the Cajun way.

This year, I had the privilege of being home for the holiday for the first time in my adult life, and I decided to head down south to the Acadiana region of South Louisiana, also known as Cajun Country, to celebrate both styles of Mardi Gras.

There are a few similarities between the two, especially the abundance of alcohol, the importance of clothing and the presence of a king cake.

New Orleans style Mardi Gras

If you’re not from Louisiana and you know what Mardi Gras is, this is the kind of celebration you’re thinking about. Although New Orleans is the most famous place for this holiday, many cities celebrate in the same way.

I grew up outside of Shreveport, but my family attended several festivals held in different cities during my childhood, including New Orleans and Mobile. When I had to move to Alaska when I was seven years old, my grandmother hugged me and said, “Carlie, I’m going to miss you!” I looked at him with teary eyes and replied, “I will miss Mardi Gras!”

This year, I traveled to a suburb of Lafayette, Louisiana called Youngsville to experience its parade, which includes marching bands, commercial vehicles and floats. Large floats, decorated cars that run through the downtown route. The floats are filled with people in costumes and an array of plastic bead necklaces, cups, stuffed animals, treats and more.

When I arrived at the parade route with my grandmother armed with nothing but a bag of beads, I quickly realized that I had forgotten how these shindigs work. Experienced show-goers get out to the front of the track and bring tents, chairs, coolers and games to take some time before the show starts.

Luckily for me, southern hospitality is alive and well. A kind stranger took pity on our plight and took us into his secluded house where he provided us with chairs, food, drinks and a bathroom in his nearby house. We waited comfortably for the show, catchy music by Boosie and other Louisiana rappers pumping from the nearby speakers as we marveled at the crowd’s costumes and dancing skills.

The parades are organized by elite and mysterious krewes who spend months preparing for the holiday, decorating the floats and choosing the riders. Krewes are also known for hosting official and special candy balls.

Dressing up in a costume or mask is an important part of the Mardi Gras experience in both New Orleans and Cajun country. Historically, it has allowed class lines to blur and everyone to come together to focus on festivities.

Cajun style for Mardi Gras

Officially known as the Courir de Mardi Gras, or the Mardi Gras Run, this type of celebration is community-oriented and specific to the Cajun country.

I had never heard of Mardi Gras running until I went back to Louisiana for high school, where I went to a statewide magnet boarding school and met a bunch of real Cajuns. This year, I experienced my first Cajun Mardi Gras, joining my high school friend’s family in the small town of Mermentau Cove, Louisiana.

Money is raised at every event through begging and the official sale of donated items. Citizens vote early on how funds will be allocated, whether it’s a community member in need or a public service project. For example, Mermentau Cove previously used Mardi Gras funds to build grounds for their cemetery and add flags to veterans’ graves.

To participate in the run, residents register in advance and pay a fee to help with transportation and planning stops on the run. Non-participating residents gather in houses along the way to eat and dance. Live musicians will play, usually country or Cajun French music, featuring instruments such as accordions and fiddles.

At Mermentau Cove, the runners were taken to my house by a police procession accompanied by decorated trailers. As they were emptying they came to the house, asking for coins by pointing to the palm of their hand with one finger. Residents would be prepared with Ziploc bags full of change, and runners would hand out Mardi Gras beads for cash.

Although I was outside of this close-knit circle of about 150 Cajuns, I never once felt like this. No one asked my name, where I was from or why I was there, instead they focused on making sure I ate and knew where the food was if I wanted more. That simple idea dissolves what it’s all about to be a Louisianan.

No matter who you are or where you’re from, if you find yourself in Louisiana during Mardi Gras, be sure to leave with more beads than you can wear, a belly full of well-stuffed food and lots of new friends who know how to have fun.

DONATE Christine Savoie and her parents, Belinda and Joey

This article first appeared in USA TODAY: Beads, chickens and king cake: How Louisiana celebrates Mardi Gras

Reporting by Carlie Procell and Veronica Bravo, USA TODAY / USA TODAY

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