Across the globe, pre-Lenten festivals continue to take place in many countries with significant Roman Catholic populations.
But if you see something that doesn't look right, click here to contact us! Subscribe for fascinating stories connecting the past to the present. Easter is a Christian holiday that celebrates the belief in the resurrection of Jesus Christ. In the New Testament of the Bible, the event is said to have occurred three days after Jesus was crucified by the Romans and died in roughly 30 A. Chinese New Year is the most important holiday in China. In , Chinese New Year will begin on February 1.
Tied to the Chinese lunar calendar, the holiday was traditionally a time to honor household and heavenly deities as well as ancestors. It was also a time to bring family Mardi Gras and Carnival are the same celebration. Presidents' Day is a federal holiday celebrated on the third Monday in February; Presidents' Day will occur on Monday, February Originally established in in recognition of President George Washington, the holiday became popularly known as Presidents' Day after it Earth Day was founded in as a day of education about environmental issues, and Earth Day will occur on Friday, April Live TV.
This Day In History. You may have donned a mask or worn some beads for Mardi Gras celebrations in school or abroad, but found yourself wondering "What is the meaning of Mardi Gras? Mardi Gras is defined as Shrove Tuesday or the last day before Lent and "is a day of merrymaking and carnival. Masquerade and masked balls have been celebrated since the Middle Ages and Mardi Gras is only one of the more famous examples of these elaborate costume parties seen throughout history around the world.
In the beginning, Mardi Gras was known as Carnival or Carnaval, meaning to take away meat, and started with Pagan spring and fertility rituals. While many believe Mardi Gras originated in New Orleans, the truth is the celebration as you know it today originated in the U.
The first Mardi Gras celebration happened in Mobile in and the first Mardi Gras parade was held there in Celebrations in New Orleans didn't start until the s.
Traditionally, people celebrated Mardi Gras as a last day of excess and a last chance to deplete their stocks of foods that couldn't be eaten during Lent.
The celebration became a way to revel in excess before people focused on the religious rite of going without. Today, many people celebrate Mardi Gras as a way to show off and have fun with friends, family, and strangers. Mardi Gras traditions tend to be similar no matter what country you're celebrating in.
The traditional Mardi Gras colors are purple, green, and gold. Green represents faith, purple represents justice, and gold symbolizes power. This color scheme is thought to be borrowed from one of the oldest New Orleans krewes, or social clubs, Rex Krewe. They threw beaded necklaces featuring their krewe colors and other krewes soon followed suit.
Contrary to popular belief, nudity is not required to receive parade throws like beads. Mardi Gras masks were meant to help guests hide their identity as they engaged in Mardi Gras debauchery and mingled with other classes of people. They also serve as outward representations of parts of the wearer's personality. By law , anyone riding an official Mardi Gras float in New Orleans has to wear a mask.
Dazzling gaslight torches, or " flambeaux , " lit the way for the krewe's members and lent each event an exciting air of romance and festivity. In , six young Mobile natives formed the Mistick Krewe of Comus , invoking John Milton's hero Comus to represent their organization. Comus brought magic and mystery to New Orleans with dazzling floats known as tableaux cars and masked balls. Krewe members remained anonymous. This is also the first recorded account of Mardi Gras "throws.
Newspapers began to announce Mardi Gras events in advance, and they even printed "Carnival Edition" lithographs of parades' fantastic float designs after they rolled, of course - themes and floats were always carefully guarded before the procession. At first, these reproductions were small, and details could not be clearly seen.
But beginning in with Proteus' parade "Visions of Other Worlds," these chromolithographs could be produced in full, saturated color, doing justice to the float and costume designs of Carlotta Bonnecase, Charles Briton and B.
Each of these designers' work was brought to life by talented Parisian paper-mache' artist Georges Soulie' , who for 40 years was responsible for creating all of Carnival's floats and processional outfits. To honor the visiting Russian Grand Duke Alexis Romanoff, the businessmen introduced Romanoff's family colors of purple, green and gold as Carnival's official colors.
Purple stands for justice; gold for power; and green for faith.
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