cj Sez: You think Mardi Gras is a one-day affair? Like
Paczki Day* in Hamtramck, Michigan? Think again, Grasshopper. Mardi Gras may be
a one-day affair in some places, but in Mobile, Alabama, it’s a season.
And for your reading and writing pleasure, here is some info …
The Mardi Gras season officially started on January 6, the
assigned date the three wise men were thought to have visited the baby Jesus—otherwise
known as “Three Kings Day” or “Epiphany.”
In 2022 in the Mobile area, the first parades start on
January 29 when the Krewe De La Dauphine rolls the first Mardi Gras parade through
the streets of Dauphin Island. The Dauphin Island People’s Parade follows on
February 5, and the 2022 Mardi Gras season is off and running. Parades in the
city of Mobile, the birthplace of Mardi Gras celebrations in the U.S., begin on
February 11, and they don’t stop until March 1, the day of Mardi Gras, aka
known as Fat Tuesday and Shrove Tuesday.
For weeks, the streets of Mobile will be filled with the
sights and sounds of live marching bands, brilliantly colored floats, and crowds
of parade goers. More than 40 parades are scheduled to roll in downtown Mobile
and elsewhere in the Gulf Coast area.
Now for some Mardi Gras definitions:
ASH WEDNESDAY: The end of Mobile’s Mardi Gras season. All the
excitement and celebrations of Mardi Gras season come to a screeching halt at
12:00 a.m. on Ash Wednesday
CARNIVAL: The term carnival has been loosely translated as “farewell
to meat,” the temporary period before the Lenten period when devout Catholics forego
eating meat.
KING CAKE: King cake is made of a rising dough, braided into
a circle with cinnamon and sugar, topped with fondant icing, and sprinkled with
purple, green and gold sugar.
LUNDI GRAS: The French term for “Fat Monday” —the day before
Mardi Gras.
MARDI GRAS: The French term for “Fat Tuesday,”—the calendar
day of Mardi Gras.
MARDI GRAS BALL: Krewes hold formal balls after their parades.
At the balls, the krewe introduces the organization’s honored members, a royal court
that includes queens and kings.
THROWS: The goodies that krewes throw from floats into the
crowds lining the street during the parades. Toys are popular throws (note the beads decorating grandson's tux), 
but bright, shiny bead necklaces and
moonpies are the most popular throws. MoonPies are graham-cracker-type rounds
filled with various flavors of marshmallow, covered in chocolate, and are celebrated items in Mobile … Mobile even celebrates the arrival of the New Year
with a Moonpie Drop.
And…
LAISSEZ LES BONS TEMPS ROULER: Cajun-French for “Let the
good times roll” (and they do!)
§§
Etcetera and P.S.A.
This post from author/editor Judy Penz Sheluk crossed my
Facebook page recently, and I think it’s an important educational/informational
piece for all you writers out there. http://www.judypenzsheluk.com/
§§
Mobile Writers Guild anthology:
Mardi Gras Pieces
ebook on sale at the time of this post for $1.99
Buy Now here:
§§
That’s it for
today’s post. You-all guys keep on keeping on, and I’ll try to do the same.
cj
P.S. The Haunted
Bookshop has signed copies of my stories in stock. TO ORDER my author-graphed
books or any book of your choice on-line from a favorite, indie bookstore,
contact The Haunted Bookshop here: https://www.thehauntedbookshopmobile.com/contact-us
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