Mardigras

Walking into the cemetery, I noticed that the night shined brighter than the day and the music was more alive than ever. I could hear the song, “Puno de Tierra” by Ramon Ayala, playing in the background and there were many families gathered around the graves of their loved ones. I could smell the fresh copal burning into the air and I noticed that my uncles tumba (tomb) looked cleaner than any other day. His grave was decorated with marigolds, candy skulls, pan de muertos, and white candles along with a few of his favorite foods and a portrait of him placed in the middle for everyone to see. Then, I suddenly open my eyes to see myself sitting down on a sofa from our living room, and in the background I heard my grandmother continuously repeating

The Krewe of Cleopatra is an all women crew that represents strength, beauty, and femininity. Earlier this month, I got to see the Cleopatra crew performed and it was an astonishing experience. I lived here in New Orleans for nine years, but I have never participated in a parade before. Even though it was a popular culture, I was always too lazy to go. This year I wanted to do something more than just staying home and play game, I wanted to go out and experience the atmosphere, but more specifically I wanted to experience the Mardi Gras atmosphere. It was a unique atmosphere that I certainly love to go again.

Ancient Greeks influenced our popular tradition of Mardi Gras. Many parades that are held during the Mardi Gras season are

On this day streets are filled with masked people in outrages colorful costumes. Feathers as well as gold, purple and green seem to be just about everywhere people look. Beads are thrown high into the air from elaborate creative floats while people try desperately to be the lucky ones who catch these festive beads. While confetti falls down from the sky and the bands march through the streets filling the city with music as the crowds of people dance. New Orleans, the city that lets the good times roll is where the biggest party in America, also known as Mardi Gras takes place.

Lafayette Louisiana witch is the capital of the Cajun Country. Has the second biggest Mardi Gras celebration. This celebration has lost its meaning. More of a tourist profit to the state this celebration would be a very hard challenge to get the state to bring its meaning back. In the old days, Mardi Gras was not just the day before Ash Wednesday. It was a day that people rode on horseback or in their trucks going to town’s businesses and neighborhoods. Once the owner of the homes or businesses allowed these people to come in the masked people started to sing, dance, play around or even play pranks on the people who allowed them in. Before the masked people left the begged the owners of the business or home for rice or other things. If they gave them something such as money or things to make a gumbo, they allowed that person to a gumbo feast that was held that evening. And if they did not the masked people would destroy their home or business. They might even mock them for years to come.” This group of masked people was known as classed Les Mardi Gras, or in English the Mardi Gras.” (Ware, 2003) Today Cajun’s don't celebrate it this way anymore. Mardi Gras is considered to be paradise, festivals, drinking and getting as many beads as you can. The masked people can still be seen but not asking for things to make a gumbo or money but as a symbol in the

Culture is one of the most important parts of the life as spirituality. Native American, people practice many different ceremonies as a ritual, which represent their culture, such as, Sun Dance, healing ceremony, and Gallup ceremony, etc. The first ceremony that Native American celebrates the Sun Dance, which is also known as thanksgiving ceremony. This ceremony is like a vision dance. It is a ritual in which people stare at the sun, until everything blackout or spirit break in (Lecture notes). The other ceremony is Gallup ceremony, which is one of the major celebrations that Indian-Tribe celebrates. According to the text, “The Gallup Ceremonial had been an annual event for a long time. It was good for the tourist, they liked to see Indians and Indian dances; they wanted a chance to buy Indian Jewelry and Navajo rugs. Every year it was organized by the white men there” (111). It demonstrates that, how the Native people celebrate their ceremonies every year, with all the respect to their culture. The last ceremony is healing ceremony. Healing ceremony is the ritual that a female Pomo Shaman conducts a ritual healing ceremony over the man’s body. She is performing the ancient doctoring to heal the man spiritually, in which she was dancing with a two sticks, chanting and rubbing her hand on the body (Lecture notes). As we compare, ancient and recent Native American cultures were almost the same because in the past, people celebrate the cultures with a very good sight to enjoy their rituals. Even though, now society has developed a lot, but values of traditions are not changed

In 1703, Jean Baptists Le Moyne Sieur de Bienville lead an expedition throughout the lower region of North America territory, when he settled in what is modern-day Mobile, Alabama to celebrate the first known celebrated Mardi Gras event. Mardi Gras was not commemorated in New Orleans until the 1930s which was about twelve yeas after the city was founded. For a fifty year period in time, New Orleans did not celebrate Mardi Gras as a carnival, but rather through social balls influenced by Louisiana’s governor in the early 1940s, Marquis de Vaudreuil. The first reference of Mardi Gras in carnival style came in 1781, when information surfaced of carnival organization forming in New Orleans. By 1830s, the carnival style became in grained into the holiday’s traditions. In 1873, floats for New Orleans Mardi Gras were completely made in the native instead of across seas in France. In 1875, Governor Warmoth recognized Mardi Gras as an official holiday in Louisiana and from still is to this today. New Orleans’s Mardi Gras has an I testing history, however tourists to the city usually are unaware of the the complete origins story of the carnival and miss the understanding of why the holiday is important to natives. Most tourists tend to be least aware about the significance of religion to Mardi Gras’s culture in New

Blues for New Orleans: Mardi Gras and America’s Creole Soul by Roger D. Abrahams is a book about the upbringing of the New Orleans Mardi Gras carnival. This is one the most famous carnivals held in New Orleans. The festival Mardi Gras “Fat Tuesday” incorporates “such events as costumed float parades, neighborhood marches or second-lines, street gatherings, informal parties, and formal balls in New Orleans, Biloxi, and Mobile, among other Gulf Coast cities and towns.” (1) The author, Roger D. Abrahams throughout his book, speaks of the carnival from all differ perspectives and compares it to other countries held around the world. He also addresses, how before Hurricane Katrina and afterwards, the Mardi Gras festival and the culture/ tradition

Parading on the outskirts of Mobile while dressed up as a Chickasaw chief is how one man became an important factor in the history of Mobile, Alabama, in the mid 1800’s. Now, a day set aside for this man, parades with floats, beads, moonpies, and loud music remind Mobilians of their favorite time of the year, Mardi Gras. The carnival celebration of Mardi Gras has played a big role in the history of the southern cities Mobile, Alabama, and New Orleans, Louisiana, but the history that everyone believes about the carnival and the people that have contributed to it is not always as true as it seems.

Young slaves, and free men of color use to carry torches to light the way for floats and bands during the night of the parade (Kaufmann).Over the years, the sizes of the wagons have increased. Today, people celebrate their accomplishments; through Mardi Gras floats with complex themed designs. I think waiting for the floats can be somewhat tedious. All of the adrenaline that starts to build up just by being anxious to see the floats. The floats are very beautiful at night, whomever designed the floats took their time to perfect the ideas they had.

December 12th is not just another ordinary day. For me and for many other Hispanics we celebrate El Dia de la Virgen de Guadalupe on this date. People officially started celebrating El Dia de la Virgen on 1859. This tradition has been going on for more than 150 years and it will continue to be celebrated. Not only do we dedicate this day to the Virgin Mary but honor her with flowers, performances, music, and dances. On this paper I will be discussing the history behind el 12 de Diciembre, the appearance of the Virgin Mary to Juan Diego, and what people do to celebrate this special day.

In 1837, a costumed gathering of revelers strolled in the initially reported "parade," however the fierce conduct of maskers amid the following two decades created the press to require an end to Mardi Gras. Luckily, six New Orleanians who were previous individuals from the Cowbellians, (a gathering that had introduced New Year's Eve parades in Mobile since 1831), spared the New Orleans Mardi Gras by shaping the Comus association in 1857. The men enhanced the festival and demonstrated that it could be delighted in a sheltered and bubbly way. Comus begat "krewe" and created a few Mardi Gras customs by framing a mystery Carnival society, picking a legendary namesake, giving a themed parade skims and costumed maskers, and arranging a scene

For people in Texas they get excited for rodeos or a Cowboys football game but, down in Louisiana on Bourbon St they have a 2 week span party called Mardi Gras. From Shrove Tuesday all the way to a day before Ash Wednesday. Each night has a small parade until the last 5-7 days this is when the big parades are. Social clubs like the Krews organize Mardi Gras. Girls who go can win prizes like get thrown mardi gras necklaces from the boys above. For the men their is only one big prize called The REX .

The parade consists of locals dressed as French and Mexican soldiers, and they reenact the war. That is only one of the sacred traditions that go along with this fascinating

Research on ritual with respect to consumption and holidays has been a growing topic with the support of numerous studies in recent years. However, a clear definition of what ritual entail is of debate between scholars of the social sciences, particularly anthropology, psychology, and sociology. Creating a clear set of criteria to describe what behavior is considered to be of an aspect of ritual or not has been an impossible feat for researchers, instead many definitions have risen from disagreement between the social sciences.