Join us for the inaugural event in our Saturday Celebrations series on Saturday, February 10.
Our celebration will feature dinner, live music by the Hot Cat Jazz band, dancing, crafts and take-aways for both children
and adults. We will also hand out beads and form our own Mardi Gras parade!
Our celebration combines Christian and New Orleans traditions of Mardi Gras:
In Christianity, Mardi Gras (aka Shrove Tuesday) happens 47 days before Easter, and was originally a day when Christians prepared for the season of Lent. In early history, Christians were not allowed to use fat during Lent, so any fat in the house (like butter, oil or the fat found in meat) was used up on “Fat Tuesday.” Pancakes are associated with the day preceding Lent because they were a way to use up rich foods such as eggs, milk, and sugar, before the Lenten fast. In addition, pancakes have been noted to symbolize "four pillars of the Christian faith — eggs for creation, flour as the mainstay of the human diet, salt for wholesomeness and milk for purity." First Church has often held pancake suppers on Shrove Tuesday.
The New Orleans version of Mardi Gras can be traced to 1710 when the "Boeuf Gras Society" was formed and paraded with a huge bull's head pushed along on wheels by 16 men. The first official Mardi Gras parade was held in New Orleans in 1837. The tradition has expanded and is now synonymous with the city —embraced by residents of New Orleans beyond those of French or Catholic heritage. Mardi Gras celebrations are part of the basis of the slogan "Let the good times roll." Today the parades feature masks, beads and musical celebrations in the streets.
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Events
Mardi Gras