By Sara Pic (Follow us on LinkedIn)
It is Carnival season in New Orleans. And I do mean season – Carnival begins on January 6th every year, also known as Epiphany and Three Kings Day, and extends until the day before Ash Wednesday, known as Mardi Gras, or Fat Tuesday. Mardi Gras, and the weeks that precede it, were historically a time for Roman Catholic communities to binge on rich, fatty foods and other excesses, before Lenten fasting and other types of abstinence. Depending on when that day falls (anywhere from early February to mid March), the Carnival season is at least a month if not 2 months long.
Although there are even bigger Carnival celebrations in other parts of the world, such as in Brazil, most people know that there is nothing quite like Mardi Gras in New Orleans in the United States. Many people only associate Mardi Gras with rowdy bacchanalian debauchery. Last year, while in a Zoom meeting with law librarian colleagues from across the country, I remarked I would not be available for a future meeting date on a Tuesday in March, as that would be Mardi Gras. A dear friend laughed and said she admired my commitment to honesty, as she confessed she thought I would be absent due to inebriation. However, I explained to her I would not be available because it is actually a holiday in Louisiana! No one goes to work on Mardi Gras, especially not in New Orleans, where it would be nearly impossible to get anywhere due to the number of parades rolling through the streets. Though, yes, I told my friends on Zoom – I would not be available because I would also be with my family at the parades. This caused even more confused laughter. “Family?!” Why, yes, with my family, including my twin toddlers and teen son! Because Mardi Gras in New Orleans is mostly a family celebration. No one in my meeting had any idea. They were only familiar with the drunken revelries they had seen on Bourbon Street. But Mardi Gras is so much more than that!
The first parade of the season rolls right past my work parking lot – the Krewe de Jeanne d’Arc, which parades on the saint’s birthday, on the first day of Carnival season. The “krewe” (like a club) celebrates the “Maid of Orleans” by dressing as medieval characters to illuminate Joan’s heroism and timelessness, while connecting her to the French heritage and pride of New Orleans. I love watching all the Joans riding by on horseback as I leave work. The next parade I usually attend is Chewbacchus, cheekily named after both the Star Wars character and the god of wine. Their mission says it best: to “save the galaxy by giving the disenfranchised, socially awkward, and generally weird masses access to the magical revelry of Carnival.” This one is a favorite of my kids, in particular – our family loves dressing up, me as Queen Amidala and my spouse as Anakin Skywalker (Darth Vader before he embraced the dark side), and my twins as Luke and Leia, naturally. During Carnival season, we usually go to at least one parade every weekend, up until Mardi Gras day. Some krewes give out “throws” (beads, cups, toys, other accessories). My toddlers made out like bandits last year – no one can resist cute kids. One person on a float pointed at my son and waved him over where she proceeded to drop to him a purple, green, and gold (Mardi Gras colors) crab that was as big as him!
Mardi Gras is a fun time in our library too. It’s common to find king cake at not just parties but also in offices throughout all of Carnival season (but beware and don’t eat it past Fat Tuesday or you will be blamed when the Saints lose!). I’ve heard that New Orleans is one of the few places in the United States that celebrates a pastry as much as any other type of haute cuisine, and it’s really true. Ask any New Orleanian and they will tell you which king cakes they would kill for and which they’re not fond of. I bought my spouse, whose birthday is during Carnival season and who always gets a king cake instead of a birthday cake, a book called The Big Book of King Cake last year – and the title does not lie. It is enormous and mouth-watering. We celebrated with our library’s first king cake of the season (a tasty confection with a slight hint of orange and a nice yeasty sweet roll), followed up just a few days later by yet another (one we did not like as much, too much cinnamon and an almost chemical scent). Whoever finds “the baby” (a plastic baby Jesus) in their slice of king cake has to bring the next king cake – which is a great excuse to try out lots of different king cakes! We also converted our library’s Christmas “book tree” into a Mardi Gras book tree by adding some throws and an elaborate mask.
As you can imagine, any celebration of this size also has quite a lot of laws and lawsuits swirling about it. A co-worker at my law library published a libguide on parade laws that collects many of them but the one I always make sure people know about who are attending parades for the first time is the general limitation on liability. It’s considered an inherently dangerous activity when people from moving vehicles are hurling big balls of plastic at you!
On February 13 this year, raise a glass of whatever you’re drinking and laissez les bons temps rouler – let the good times roll!
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Notes Between Us (NBU) is a blog about conversations and topics of interest to the writers. The writers are expressing their personal opinions solely. The essays represent their personal beliefs and not those of their workplaces or any organization they are associated with.
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