The terms "Mardi Gras
" (mär`de grä) and "Mardi Gras season
",[ in English, refer to events of the Carnival celebrations, ending on the day before Ash Wednesday. From the French term "Mardi Gras
" (literally "Fat Tuesday"), has come to mean the whole period of activity related to those events, beyond just the single day, often called Mardi Gras Day or Fat Tuesday. [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6]
The season can be designated by the year, as in "Mardi Gras 2008".][
]
The time varies from city to city, as some traditions consider Mardi Gras as the Carnival period between Epiphany or Twelfth Night and Ash Wednesday. [7] Others treat the final three-day period as being Mardi Gras. [8] In Mobile, Alabama, Mardi Gras events begin in November, followed by mystic society balls on Thanksgiving,[ [9]
then New Year's Eve, formerly with parades on New Year's Day, followed by parades and balls in January & February, celebrating up to midnight before Ash Wednesday.][
]
Other cities most famous for their Mardi Gras celebrations include Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; Sydney, Australia and New Orleans, Louisiana. Many other places have important Mardi Gras celebrations as well.
Carnival is an important celebration in most of Europe (except in Ireland and the United Kingdom where the festival is called "shrovetide" ending on Shrove Tuesday, and pancakes are the tradition) and also in many parts of Latin America and the Caribbean.
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Belgium
In the Belgian city of
Binche the "Mardi Gras" festival is the most important day of the year and the summit of the .
Around 1000
Gilles
can be found dancing throughout the city from in the morning until well past dark whilst traditional carnival songs play.
In 2003, the Carnival of Binche was proclaimed one of the
Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity by
UNESCO.
Brazil
The
Carnival is an annual pre-Lenten celebration in Brazil. the cities of
Recife and
Salvador are well-known for their Carnival but the most notable is the one held in
Rio de Janeiro. By Carnival's end on Mardi Gras, thousands of people will have attended the festivities.
Recife
thumb at Pátio de São Pedro square, in
Recife
Recife's Carnival is nationally known and attracts thousands of people every year. The party starts a week before the official date, with electric trios "shaking" the
Boa Viagem district. On Friday, people take to the streets to enjoy themselves to the sound of
frevo and to dance with
maracatu, ciranda, caboclinhos,
afoxé,
reggae and
Mangue Bit groups. There is entertainment throughout the city, such as when more than a million people follow the
Galo da Madrugada group. On Sunday the Pátio do Terço is the sight of
Noite dos Tambores Silenciosos
, where maracatus honor slaves that died in prison.
Rio de Janeiro
thumb
Rio de Janeiro has many Carnival choices, including the famous
Escolas de Samba
(Samba schools) parades in the
sambódromo exhibition centre and the popular 'blocos de carnaval', which parade in almost every corner of the city. The most famous parades are the
Cordão do Bola Preta
with traditional carnival parades in the centre of the city, the
Suvaco do Cristo
parades in the Botanic Garden,
Carmelitas
parades in the hills of Santa Teresa, the
Simpatia é Quase Amor
is one of the most popular parades in Ipanema, and the
Banda de Ipanema
which attracts a wide range of revelers, including families and a wide spectrum of the gay population (notably spectacular
drag queens).
Salvador
According to the
Guinness Book, the
carnival or
Carnaval
of Salvador de Bahia is the biggest street party on the planet. For an entire week, almost two million people join the city's street celebrations, which are divided into circuits: Barra/Ondina, Campo Grande and Pelourinho. The music played during Carnaval includes Axé and Samba-reggae. Many "blocos" participate in Carnaval, the "blocos afros" like Malé Debalé, Olodum and Filhos de Gandhi being the most famous of them.
Canada
Mardi Gras celebrations are common throughout the country, especially in major cities like
Toronto,
Vancouver, and
Montreal.
Quebec
Quebec is where Mardi Gras is most widely celebrated in Canada.
Quebec City is famous for the
Quebec Winter Carnival, which usually starts on the first Friday of January and continues for 17 days. With close to one million participants, it has grown to become the largest winter celebration in the world.
[10]
Lots of festivities are held at this event, including a winter amusement park with attractions such as skiing, snow rafting, and snow sled-slides. Montreal also holds a Mardi Gras celebration, with events such as music festivals, comedy festivals, food festivals, and street parties.
[11]
Caribbean nations
In the Caribbean,
Carnival is celebrated on a number of islands:
Antigua,
Aruba,
Barbados,
Bonaire,
Curaçao,
Dominica,
Dominican Republic,
Grenada,
Guadeloupe,
Guyana,
Haiti,
Jamaica,
St. Lucia,
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines,
Saint Kitts and Nevis,
St. Martin,
Trinidad and Tobago and
United States Virgin Islands are some of the celebrants.
Colombia
Several
Colombian cities celebrate carnivals in the period between
Twelfth Night and Mardi Gras. The most important of these celebrations is
Barranquilla's Carnival (Spanish: Carnaval de Barranquilla)
, which starts on the Saturday before Ash Wednesday and ends on Mardi Gras. The roots of Barranquilla's Carnival date back to the 19th century, and is reputed for being second in size to Rio's, but is far less commercialized. The
Carnival of Barranquilla
was proclaimed by
UNESCO, in November 2003, as one of the
Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity.
Denmark
In Denmark the celebration is called
Fastelavn. Fastelavn evolved from the
Roman Catholic tradition of celebrating in the days before
Lent, but after Denmark became a
Protestant nation, the holiday became less specifically religious. This holiday occurs seven weeks before Easter Sunday and is sometimes described as a Nordic
Halloween with children dressing up in costumes and gathering treats for the
Fastelavn
feast. The holiday is generally considered to be a time for children's fun and family games. The term "Fastelavn" is a
Low Saxon loanword imported from Northern
Germany:
Fastelavend
['fastl?.???vm?t],
Fastelabend
['fastl?.???bm?t] and
Fastlaam
(also spelled
Fastlom
) ['fastl???m], related to Low Saxon
Vastelaovend
in the eastern parts of the
Netherlands and to
Dutch Vastenavond
.
France
thumb
The city of
Nice, France records that in the year of 1294, the Comte de Provence Charles II, Duc d’Anjou began taking his holidays in Nice to take part in the festivities of Carnival complete with
balls, masquerades, bonfires, jugglers, mimes, and more. All that was required to take part was a costume and a mask. So much revelry was had that even the church could not control the more obscene aspects. The city's records, however, show that the celebration hit a high note in the period of time they call the
Belle Époque, in the late 19th century to early 20th century before the World Wars. The city of Nice still holds
its own Carnaval, lasting two weeks and celebrating Mardi Gras on the last day. The Nice Carnaval has parades of flower-covered floats and brilliant night-time light displays.
[12]
Other
French cities also hold Carnavals.
Germany
The celebration of Mardi Gras in Germany is called
Karneval,
Fastnacht, or
Fasching.
[13] Fastnacht means "Eve of the Beginning of the Fast", and thus it is celebrated until the day before Ash Wednesday. The most famous parades are held in Köln (Cologne), Mainz, and Düsseldorf on Monday before Ash Wednesday on "Rosenmontag" i.e. Lundi Gras.
Guatemala
The main celebration of Mardi Gras in Guatemala is an eight day celebration in
Mazatenango.
India
In
Goa, India, the Carnival is celebrated for three days culminating on Fat Tuesday. Goa was a Portuguese colony until 1961. In
Kerala State the carnival parade is called "Rasa" (fun in Sanskrit) and happens on the night before Ash Wednesday. There are typically no masks in the celebration, unlike in Goa.
Italy
Venice
Venice is home to one of the most famous Carnival celebrations in the world, in addition to one of the oldest. The
Carnival of Venice
(or
Carnevale di Venezia
in Italian) was first recorded in 1268. The subversive nature of the festival is reflected in the many laws created over the centuries in Italy attempting to restrict celebrations and often banning the wearing of
masks. Masks have always been a central feature of the Venetian carnival, traditionally people were allowed to wear them between the festival of
Santo Stefano
(
St. Stephen's Day, at the start of the Carnival season and midnight of
Shrove Tuesday). As masks were also allowed during
Ascension and from October 5 to
Christmas, people could spend a large proportion of the year in disguise . Maskmakers (
mascherari
) enjoyed a special position in society, with their own laws and their own
guild. In 1797 Venice became part of the Austrian-held
Kingdom of Lombardy-Venetia when Napoleon signed the
Treaty of Campo Formio. The Austrians took control of the city on January 18, 1798 and it fell into a decline which also effectively brought Carnival celebrations to a halt for almost two centuries. Carnival was outlawed by the
fascist government in the 1930s. It was not until a modern mask shop was founded in the 1980s that Carnival enjoyed a revival.
[14]
Panama
Carnival is celebrated in several Panamanian cities such as Las Tablas, Ocu, Chitre, Penenomé and Panama City. Carnival in this country is characterized by the soaking of people mainly via the use of water trucks and hoses. The celebrations tend to last through a four day holiday weekend.
Spain
In Spain it's called 'Carnaval'. The Carnival in Las Palmas is without doubt the most recognized carnival in Spain. It's celebrated in the month of February. During two weeks the "Murgas" take place and sing burlesque songs, the Queen of Carnival is elected within this time.
Sweden
In Sweden the celebration is called
Fettisdagen. It comes from the word "fett" (fat) and "tisdag" (Tuesday). Originally, this was the only day one should eat
semlor (fat Tuesday buns), but these are now found in most grocery stores and bakeries preceding the holiday, and up until
Easter.
United States
While not observed nationally throughout the United States, a number of cities and regions in the country have notable celebrations. Mardi Gras arrived in North America as a sedate French
Catholic tradition with the Le Moyne brothers,
[15] Pierre Le Moyne d'Iberville and
Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville, in the late 17th century, when
King Louis XIV sent the pair to defend France's claim on the territory of
Louisiane
, which included what are now the U.S. states of
Alabama,
Mississippi, and
Louisiana.
[
]
The expedition, led by Iberville, entered the mouth of the Mississippi River on the evening of March 2, 1699, Lundi Gras, not yet knowing it was the river explored and claimed for France by René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle in 1683. The party proceeded upstream to a place on the west bank about 60 miles downriver from where New Orleans is today, where a small tributary emptied into the great river, and made camp. This was on March 3, 1699, Mardi Gras day, so in honor of this holiday, Iberville named the spot Point du Mardi Gras
(French: "Mardi Gras Point") and called the small tributary Bayou Mardi Gras. Bienville went on to found the settlement of Mobile, Alabama in 1702 as the first capital of French Louisiana, [16] and in 1703 the Mardi Gras tradition began with celebrations by the French settlers in that city.[ [17] [18] By 1720, Biloxi had been made capital of Louisiana. The French customs were introduced there at that time.][ In 1723, the capital of Louisiana was moved to New Orleans, founded in 1718.][ The tradition there expanded to the point that it became synonymous with that city, and closely associated with the slogan Laissez les bon temps rouler and the nickname Big Easy.][ In more recent times several other U.S. cities without a French Catholic heritage have instituted the celebration of Mardi Gras.
]
See also
- joie de vivre
- Laissez les bon temps rouler
- James Gill's Mardi Gras research
- Gulf Coast Carnival Association
References
-
In Australia, Mardi Gras season: "NSW: Mardi Gras still alive
and well, say organisers", encyclopedia.com, 2003, webpage:
ency-596.
-
In London, Mardi Gras season: "Paul's Pastry Shop kneads a
ton of dough in Picayune", Allbusiness.com, 2008, webpage:
-->united-states-mississippi/1014135-1.html Allbusiness-35.
-
In New Orleans, Mardi Gras season: "Mardi Gras in New
Orleans | Metro.co.uk", Metro.co.uk, 2009, webpage:
-->in_article_id=2315&in_page_id=1 Metro.co.uk-2315.
-
In Mobile, Mardi Gras season: "New Orleans has competition
for Mardi Gras", USATODAY.com, February 2006, webpage:
-->2006-02-17-mardi-gras_x.htm USATODAY-com-mardi.
-
In San Diego, Mardi Gras season: "sandiego.com - Mardi
Gras in San Diego: FAQ's", SanDiego.com, 2008, webpage:
-->mardi-gras-in-san-diego:-faq's/ SanDiego.com-SD.
-
In Texas, Mardi Gras season: "Let’s Celebrate: Mardi
Gras 2008", Southernbyways.com, January 2008, webpage:
-->lets-celebrate-mardi-gras-2008/ southernbyways-com-TX.
- "Mardi Gras Terminology"
- The Season of Lent
-
"Mobile Carnival Association, 1927",
MardiGrasDigest.com, 2006, webpage:
-->mobile_carnival_association.htm mardigrasdigest-Mobile.
- Quebec Winter Carnival (''Carnaval de Québec'')
- Flirting with Montreal - The Globe and Mail
- Histoire et tradition - Carnaval
- http://www.serve.com/shea/germusa/karneval.htm
- Venice Carnival / Carnevale of Venice 2008
-
"New Orleans & Mardi Gras History Timeline" (event list),
Mardi Gras Digest, 2005, webpage:
MG-time.
-
"Timeline 18th Century:" (events),
Timelines of History, 2007, webpage:
TLine-1700-1724:
on "1702-1711" of Mobile.
-
"Mardi Gras in Mobile" (history),
Jeff Sessions, Senator, Library of Congress, 2006, webpage:
LibCongress-2665.
-
"Mardi Gras" (history),
Mobile Bay Convention & Visitors Bureau, 2007, webpage:
MGmobile.