'Tis the season for Mardi Gras fun

Sunday, February 11, 2007

By Karen Dunnam

Special To The Grand Rapids Press

In early January, as discarded evergreens joined the curbside trash, I swapped out my front door's Christmas wreath for a decoration in purple, green and gold. Its carved letters spell out "MARDI GRAS."

How about a holiday season that really does last six weeks? It doesn't loom large over the fun of Halloween and the grace of Thanksgiving, there's no huge outlay of purchasing or prepping, and the emphasis is not on shopping malls and Master Card meltdown.

Much of the celebrations take place in public places, sharing joy and fun with neighbors. Mardi Gras celebrates food, music and dancing, has a masquerade/Stone Soup theme, and culminates with the need to use up all the company-quality foodstuffs in the cupboards. There is but one anthem, "If Ever I Cease To Love," along with traditional hymns (think "When the Saints Go Marching In" or "Just A Closer Walk With Thee" played by a New Orleans "second line" brass band).

You would think Madison Avenue would jump on this, rather than jam all its retail and celebration profits into the last few weeks of the year.

Very few calendars mention Fat Tuesday, or Mardi Gras, the Catholic-based holiday that occurs the day before Ash Wednesday. This joyful Christian Lenten celebration has become something of a "Girls Gone Wild" video, with drunken revelers "earning" strands of beads by performing behaviors that would get them evicted from most high school dances.

Here in Michigan, the purveyors of jelly doughnuts have re-christened it Paczki Day and not even on the correct day (in Poland, it's the Thursday before Ash Wednesday, five days earlier). But Mardi Gras does not even get as much attention as Pulaski Day does.

Although I did not grow up celebrating Mardi Gras, it's become my favorite holiday. December can be a rough time, and for me it's a big relief to get past it and start wearing cheerful Mardi Gras colors, fleur de lis and beads again.

Carnival comes from the Latin words carne vale, meaning "farewell to the flesh." It has its roots in pre-Christian traditions, and most European and Latin American countries have celebrated a Carnival season for centuries.

The season begins on Epiphany (Jan. 6, "the twelfth day of Christmas"), when many cultures celebrate the three kings' presentation of gifts to the Christ child. This is traditionally when celebrants serve King Cake, which is made in a circle to represent the Wise Men's circular route. In the early days, a coin or bean was hidden inside, and whoever found the item was said to have good luck in the coming year.

Bakers now put a small plastic baby in the cake; the recipient is then expected to host the next King Cake party or bring the treat to the next event. (A King Cake resembles a round coffee cake, sometimes with cinnamon or almond filling. It's decorated with purple, green and gold icing. And unlike a paczek, you don't have to eat the whole thing!)

Carnival is a time for visiting friends, dressing up, having parties, playing music, dancing and, of course, eating anything you like. In this country, Mardi Gras has been celebrated since 1699, which makes it older than the Thomas Nast image of Santa Claus.

During the early 1800's, public celebrations centered around masqueraders on foot, in carriages and on horseback. The first documented parade occurred in 1837, when the New Orleans social clubs, called krewes, came into being. The celebrations carried on during the Civil War, went on hiatus for World War I and came back with the advent of the private automobile. Most recently, the holiday has burgeoned in popularity, thanks to the broadcast media, the Internet and imported plastic necklaces.

In the late 19th century, the event introduced a king, Rex, and an official Mardi Gras flag, colors and the royal anthem. "If Ever I Cease to Love" was from a burlesque show, and features these inexplicable nonsense lyrics:

"If ever I cease to love,

May cows lay eggs and fish grow legs.

If ever I cease to love."

Trick-or-treat gumbo

The colors of Mardi Gras are purple, green and gold, representing faith, justice and power. (In Louisiana, I found an entire aisle of a Hobby Lobby devoted to these decorations and accouterments. That was in November!) There's no central figure or typical symbol; folks dress in masquerade costumes with masks. Music is a major component of the celebration, but you'll never hear "Le Danse de Mardi Gras" on the muzak at a big box store (only on WYCE).

"Laissez les bon temps rouler" (let the good times roll)

In rural Louisiana, Fat Tuesday consists of a day-long, communitywide, trick-or-treat. Participants (called "Mardi Gras") dress in clown suits with masks and capuchons (tall cone-shaped hats). They ride on horses, in wagons, or walk from one homestead to the next, begging for food. Alcohol may be present, but not at the level as in New Orleans' French Quarter.

The spoils are not X-rayed for sharp objects or inspected by parents; they become a gumbo (stew) cooked at a local parish hall.

Musicians play for a community dance and supper. In schools, kids decorate their Radio Flyer wagons and turn them into parade floats. Outside of the French Quarter, it's a family-friendly celebration. The date is a legal holiday in Louisiana.

There's some excellent information about the holiday on Wikipedia, which states, "Lately Mardi Gras has been taken up by several cities in the U.S., as the event brings much-needed revenue to city coffers." After Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans rushed to rebuild what was needed to lure the seasonal tourists back.

Reasons to celebrate

But why leave town? Let's do it up here. Try a King Cake instead of a paczek. Drop by Fountain Street Church to see the mosaic "Mardi Gras Parade" exhibition, through Feb. 18. Bring some jambalaya to a potluck. And then dance! Just do it before Fat Tuesday on Feb. 20.

Here are all the reasons to celebrate Mardi Gras:

·  Purple, green, and gold coordinate well, and are flattering.

·  No gifts! No shopping!

·  Wonderful music, and no roasting chestnuts or "a-rum-pum-pum-pum."

·  The food is marvelously flavorful and varied.

·  The date changes every year, from Feb. 3 to March 9, always 47 days before Easter Sunday.

·  It overlaps Valentine's Day, and you don't need a sweetheart.

·  Local businesses remain open.

·  Celebrate a little or a lot; wear beads with your business suit or a feather mask to school.

·  A kiddie wagon loaded with costumed, masked dolls is really cute.

·  It's fun to say "Laissez les bon temps rouler!"