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History Of Mardi Gras
Mardi Gras came to New Orleans
through its French heritage in 1699.
Early explorers celebrated this
French Holiday on the banks of the
Mississippi River. Throughout the
years,
Orleanians have added to the
celebration
by establishing krewes (organizations)
which host parades and balls.
Carnival quickly became an exciting
holiday for both children and adults.
Mardi Gras means, "Fat Tuesday" and
of course is celebrated on that day
of the week. The date can fall between
February 3 and March 9 depending
on the Lunar calendar, used by
the Catholic Church to
determine the date
of Easter. Mardi Gras is always 47
days before Easter Sunday.
The official colors for Mardi
Gras are purple, green, and gold.
These colors were chosen in 1872
by Rex who was King Of The Carnival.
He chose these colors to stand
for the following:
Purple represents justice
Green stands for faith
Gold stands for power
The Mardi Gras season begins
on January 6 and continues until
Fat Tuesday, the day before
Ash Wednesday. On the Christian
calendar, the twelfth day after
Christmas is known as
"Epiphany",
"Twelfth Night", or "Kings Day."
It is the day the gift-bearing Magi
visited the baby Jesus, and
is celebrated with its own unique
rituals.
Trinkets Of Mardi Gras
If you go to a parade, you are surely to go
home with some of the famous catches.
You can easily obtain any of the following
by shouting the famous phrase,
"Throw me something, Mister”.
Beads
are plastic necklaces that come
in all different colors, shapes and
sizes.
They resemble jewels that
royalty would wear.
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Doubloons
are metal coins that
are about the size of a silver dollar.
They come in different colors and
are stamped
with the krewes emblem and their
theme for the year.
Similar
to doubloons, cups bear the
krewes emblem and theme
for the year. They are plastic drinking cups
and hold about 8 - 10oz.
Trinkets
are known as everything
else thrown from a float.
This can include candy, stuffed animals,
Frisbees, spears, roses,
balls, whistles, etc.
History Of The King CakeThe
Mardi Gras season begins
on January 6
and continues until Fat Tuesday,
the day before Ash Wednesday.
During this time of year,
one of the most beloved
traditions in New Orleans is
that of the King Cake.
On the Christian
calendar,
the twelfth day after Christmas
is known as "Epiphany",
"Twelfth Night",
or "Kings Day."
It is the day
the gift-bearing Magi
visited the baby Jesus, and is
celebrated with its own unique rituals.
The
New Orleans tradition,
begun in the 1870s, borrows
heavily from European customs.
As part of the celebration
of Mardi Gras, it is traditional
to bake an oval cake in
honor of the three kings
the King Cake.
The shape of a
King Cake
symbolizes the unity of faiths.
Each cake is decorated in
the traditional Mardi Gras colors.
Purple represents justice,
Green represents faith
and Gold represents power.
A small baby, symbolizing the
baby Jesus, is baked
into each cake.
In
New Orleans, King Cake
parties are held
throughout the Mardi
Gras season.
In
New Orleans, King Cake
parties are held
throughout the Mardi
Gras season.
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In offices, classrooms, and
homes throughout the city
King Cakes are sliced and
enjoyed by all. Like the
biblical story, the
"search for the baby"
adds excitement, as each person
waits to see in whose slice of cake
the baby will be discovered.
While custom holds that the
person who finds the baby in
their slice will be rewarded.
With good luck, that person is
also traditionally responsible
for bringing the King Cake
to the next party
or gathering.
 The
traditional King Cake
is made from twisted strands
of cinnamon dough,
topped with icing, and
sprinkled with purple, green,
and gold colored sugar.
Today, many additional varieties
of King Cake are also available,
with fillings such as cream cheese,
strawberry, apple, and lemon.
King Cake Recipe
Make your own
King Cake
with our recipe
Ingredients
1 can of cinnamon rolls, with icing
¾ cup of sugar, separated
into 3 parts of ¼ each
Food Coloring
Separate
the cinnamon rolls and
roll them out by hand so that they
look like a hot dog.
Shape the roll into an oval,
pinch the ends together,
and place on a cookie sheet.
Cook as directed.
While
they are cooking,
use food coloring to
dye sugar. Make one part
purple using blue and red
one part green, and one part
gold using yellow.
When they are finished
cooking, ice the tops with
the white icing. Sprinkle
the different colors of sugars
alternating as you go
around the oval.
Enjoy!
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