Party On!
For thousands of years on the days leading up to Lent, merrymakers would binge eat in preparation for several weeks of fasting. Along with Christianity, this tradition spread throughout Europe and in France the day before Lent began came to known Mardi Gras or “Fat Tuesday.”
In America, historians believe that the first Mardi Gras took place on March 3, 1699, when the French explorers landed in present day New Orleans. They held a small celebration and named the spot Point du Mardi Gras. In the decades that followed, New Orleans and other French settlements began celebrating the holiday with street parties, masked balls and lavish dinners. Other customs include throwing beads and other trinkets, decorating floats and King Cake.
The King Cake is normally oval in shape, and decorated in purple, which represents “Justice”, green for “faith” and gold for “power”. The tiny plastic baby in the middle of the cake is symbolic of baby Jesus and the person who finds this trinket is dubbed “King of the Celebration” and gets to choose a partner to help rule.
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