Texas Now Magazine February 2014 | Page 8

Photos © Jim Zuckerman/Corbis

businessmen in New Orleans formed a secret society called the Mistick Krewe of Comus. They put together an overwhelmingly
successful parade with roadways lighted by
torches, complete with rolling floats, marching bands, and fantastic colorful costumes.
Purple, green, and gold are the traditional colors of Mardi Gras. The first, a symbol of justice,
the second, a symbol of faith and the third, a

If you can’t join the party in Lisbon or in
New Orleans, you can find a Krewe near you
and “party on” Texas style at the 12th Annual Lamardi Gras in Lamar, Texas. Check
out the ad on the back cover of this issue!!!

Photo © Jochen Schlenker/Westend61/Corbis

During the following decades, New Orleans
and other French settlements recognized the
holiday with extravagant dinners, masked balls,
and street festivities. However, the Spanish
took over control of the area from 1716 to 1810
and abolished these raucous, sometimes rowdy
rituals. Not until Louisiana became a U.S. state
in 1812 were the restrictions removed and the
party began all over again,
In 1833 a wealthy plantation owner, Bernard
Xavier de Marigny de Mandeville, sought
to organize a formal Mardi Gras celebration. A few years later, in 1839, saw the first
Mardi Gras Parade that consisted of one single float moving through the streets
of New Orleans. In 1857 a group of

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grow as additional merchants, companies and
organizations joined in. The Krewe, the organization that puts on parades or balls or floats,
remains central fixtures of all Mardi Gras celebrations. Talk with any Krewe member and you
will find one common train of thought, best
stated by Chris Rose a New Orleans resident,
who put it this way: “Mardi Gras is the love of
life. It is the harmonic convergence of our food,
our music, our creativity, our eccentricity, our
neighborhoods, and our joy of living - all at
once.”

Photo © Jochen Schlenker/Westend61/Corbis

symbol of power. History suggests the colors
were picked by the Grand Duke Alexis Romanoff of Russia when he visited New Orleans in
1872. The colors remain tradition today. Check
your Mardi Gras beads and you will find they
predominate.
Since then, each year has seen the tradition
Photo © Etienne Poupinet/Corbis