Mardi Gras

Today is Mardi Gras (French for "Fat Tuesday).  The celebration is named for the eating of rich, fatty foods before the fasting of the Lent season beginning on Ash Wednesday.  The idea is of a cycle a feast before a fast.  The celebration is associated especially with Roman Catholicism but many non-Catholics participate.  There are annual celebrations in the following countries; Belgium, Brazil, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Sweden, and the United States.  In the United States there are major celebrations in the states of Alabama, California, Florida, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Texas, and Wisconsin.

The celebrations include, of course, overeating, but also dances, parades, the wearing of masks, sporting events, and the wearing of costumes.  Sadly, some also bring binge drinking of alcohol, drugs, and promiscuous sexuality into the mix.

Mardi Gras was brought to the future United States by the Lemoyne brothers, Pierre LeMoyne d'Iberville and Jean-Baptise LeMoyne de Bienville.  The brothers were sent by King Louis XIV to claim Louisiana (modern Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana) for France.

The brothers founded several cities along the coast of the Gulf of Mexico: Biloxi, Mississippi in 1699 by Pierre; Mobile, Alabama in 1702 by Jean-Baptiste; and New Orleans, Louisiana in 1718, also by Jean-Baptiste.  Mobile became the capital of New France and today has the longest-celebrated Mardis Gras festival in the United States.

I must confess that I personally do not understand this holiday.