February 24, 2009

Mardi Gras 2009 will officially end at midnight tonight–not when the street sweepers begin cleaning up after the last parade but when the King of the Mistic Krewe of Comus invites Rex to the Comus ball and the two “monarchs” meet.  The Carnival season begins on Twelfth Night and Krewes hold their parades and balls.   That sweet, yummy creation known as the King Cake also traditionally makes its appearance on the 12th day of Christmas and can be found in bakeries thoughout the Carnival season.

Today, Mardi Gras is associated with decorated floats pulled through New Orleans streets, strings of plastic beads sailing through the air to crowds yelling, “Throw me something, Mister!”, and women flashing in hopes of getting the best strings of beads.  What was it like in Marie’s time?

Mardi Gras was celebrated in the 1700s when France governed Louisiana and the wealthy held balls where the participants wore masks to “hide” their identities; there were no parades as we think of them today.  When Spain took over Louisiana in the late 1760s, that government banned the celebration of Mardi Gras.  After the Louisiana Purchase in 1803, the American government upheld the ban on masked balls.  In the 1820s, the French population of New Orleans convinced Louisiana’s governor that the masked Mardi Gras balls were harmless fun and the governor allowed the festival to begin again.  By the late 1820s, masked revelers were allowed to “parade” through the streets in their carriages, on horseback, or on foot.  The first parade (as we would know a parade) was held in the late 1830s.  By the late 1840s/early 1850s, Mardi Gras parades became associated with violence and the tradition was almost outlawed.

The oldest of the New Orleans Krewes, Comus, was organized in 1857 in an attempt to save Mardi Gras.  The Krewe created floats for their parade and showed that Mardi Gras could be safe and fun.  Their floats were lit by flambeaux who carried torches and walked alongside the floats; the flambeaux were slaves or Free People of Color and they would put on such a show that spectators would toss coins into the street in appreciation.   There are a handful of parades today that are accompanied by flambeaux, so it’s a tradition that’s still parading on.

Marie probably would have attended one of the masked balls and maybe even would have taken part in one of the early street parades.  She was an accomplished horsewoman, so she might have paraded on her favorite steed.  After moving to the Ponderosa, she might have missed the festivity of the Carnival season and maybe she convinced Ben to hold a party or two with plenty of dancing and good food.