Christmas and New Years' have passed, and now we are deep into January. For most New Orleanians, this means thoughts of Mardi Gras.
The Carnival season starts on Twelfth Night, the last day of Christmas, and runs until Mardi Gras, or Fat Tuesday, which is the day right before Ash Wednesday on the Catholic calendar. Because Ash Wednesday moves on the calendar, the Carnival season varies greatly in length, running from January 6 to the first week of February in years when Easter comes early, and to mid-March in years when it runs late. (I always remember that St. Patrick's day, March 17th, occurs during Lent when I try to remember how late in the winter Mardi Gras can be. For the sticklers, the actual late date for Mardi Gras Is March 9.)
Except maybe this year. With Katrina so recent, there has been discussion about calling Mardi Gras off. But I think less so in New Orleans than outside of it. Some of the complaints have come from New Orleans refugees In other cities, most notably Atlanta, who somewhat understandably want every effort made to pave the way for their return, sparing nothing for a party. The rest of the objections come from non-New Orleanians who misunderstand Carnival, making assumptions about it that lead to erroneous conclusions.
Mardi Gras is not exactly a religious celebration, but it is closely linked to the religious calendar. It is the day before Ash Wednesday, and 40 days before Easter. It was originally conceived as a big blow-out party before the faithful enter the 40 days of Lenten abstinence and prayer. Much as you might have a big steak dinner the day before starting an exercise and diet plan.
The Mardi Gras celebration in Louisiana is very old, and a strong tradition. In 1699 when the French explorers Iberville and Bienville came up the Mississippi River, they arrived at a place near modern Fort Jackson and named a small stream there Bayou Mardi Gras, commemorating their day of arrival. It was the beginning of a long series of celebrations.
Mardi Gras is not just a party, it is a day. It cannot be cancelled because, strictly speaking, it exists on the calendar whether celebrated or not. If we banned Christmas celebrations, December 25 would continue to roll around. Same with Mardi Gras: there is no stopping it.
There is also no stopping the celebration. Mardi Gras is not a planned event, like the Rose Bowl or the Macy's Thanksgiving Parade. It is spontaneous. If two Cajuns split a six pack over a pot of gumbo on Fat Tuesday, they are celebrating Mardi Gras. The New Orleans Mardi Gras is best known for its parades, its throws, and its bawdy French Quarter merriment, but that is just the surface of it. It is also comprised of endless balls and gatherings, fais-do-dos, and get-togethers that have nothing to do with floats or marching bands. These things will exist without the parades, no matter what.
Further, New Orleans is hardly the only home of the American Mardi Gras. It is celebrated in Lafayette, Houma, Thibodeaux, Baton Rouge, and as far east as Mobile, AL and Pensacola, FL. The Mobile parades are older than the ones in New Orleans.
The issue of whether New Orleans should celebrate Mardi Gras is really beside the point. Even if the city of New Orleans banned the parades there would still be parties. People would show up in the French Quarter dressed up, the walking clubs would amble on. Jefferson Parish and the West Bank, both right next door, have already announced plans to party on in places the city of New Orleans has no jurisdiction over. And if they did not, there would always be Lafayette, Houma, Mobile, Ville Platte, Grand Prairie, Eunice -- the list goes on and on. There are even displaced New Orleanians in San Antonio who have vowed to put on their annual Mardi Gras Indian celebration.
There are hundreds of Carnival Krewes (clubs) in New Orleans that will host a Mardi Gras ball, parade or not. The only thing the City of New Orleans can do is refuse to issue permits for the parades. This seems to me pointless, maybe even obstructionist. The truly great thing about Mardi Gras is that it is spontaneous. It is not, as some would believe, an innovation of the tourist industry. Quite the contrary, it is indisputable that New Orleans would have Mardi Gras even if no tourists showed up. It might be a bit smaller, but it would exist. Don't believe it? Go to Houma, or Covington, or Ville Platte, or any number of small Louisiana towns that celebrate Carnival beneath the tourist radar. They do it for themselves, just as New Orleans does.
So why would the issue of canceling Mardi Gras gain any traction at all? New Orleanians, people in all cities, is not always of one mind. Just as there are people who do not like the Christmas season, or hate football, or think that drinking alcohol is a moral downfall, there are some people even in New Orleans who do not like Mardi Gras. You can find them every year on ski slopes or in Disney World during Carnival, fleeing the city to escape the onslaught of the drunken tourist. I know a few people who leave New Orleans every Mardi Gras. These people do not hate New Orleans, or even Carnival, but it is not to their taste and they would rather not be a part of it. These are the people who are amplifying the sentiment, "Why have Mardi Gras after Katrina?" It is not that they are plotting the overthrow of this institution, or even that they begrudge anyone a party. But they are not party people themselves, and so the question, once raised, resonates with them. Why not take a year off? Just one year, that's all, and we'll go back to it.
The problem is, Mardi Gras can't be called off, because there is no one in charge of it. It is a decision of the masses. You can't make the majority stop doing what they dearly want to do. Not in a democracy, anyway.
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