Research and Background
The ritual of Mardi Gras has its roots in many different cultures. This ritual has been celebrated in a very concentrated region of Nacirema located north of the body of water “Gulf of the Land of Maize.” Although this ritual is celebrated to some degree in selected Nacirema cities of this region, the epicenter of this ritual and its strange customs is the city that straddles the end of the big river Ojibwe. This city is “Crescent City.”
Once per year in the third month when the spring season begins, tens of thousands descend upon the Crescent City and join with local inhabitants to celebrate the ritual known as Mardi Gras. This paper will serve as an introduction to this ritual including an explanation of the some…show more content… The Mardi Gras ritual is the opportunity for all citizens of Crescent City, regardless of religion, to overindulge in pleasurable pastimes one last time. The culmination of Mardi Gras is on the eve of Ash Wednesday and is known as “Fat Tuesday” in honor of the bingeing and excess indulgence that takes place. Mardi Gras has its roots in far away counties that celebrated the event hundreds of years before the land of Nacimera existed and was known as “Carnival” from the Latin word camelevarium – to remove…show more content… For hundreds of years, citizens of Crescent City have formed various clubs, or “krewes” that are instrumental in the Mardi Gras parade. These krewes assemble and adorn platforms with colorful decorations and then ride on these platforms as they are pulled throughout the city on a predetermined route. Typically, each krewe appoints a symbolic “King” and “Queen” for the event. The King and Queen ride on the most ornately adorned platform and are meant to symbolize royalty from foreign countries. After the parade, this symbolic King and Queen then host an invitation-only masquerade ball in which the identity of attendees is obscured by costumes and masks. These masquerade balls are formal events that feature live music and dancing. Over time, the brightly colored feathered masks migrate out of the masquerade hall and onto the street for the general public, with many spectators wearing the masks during the parade. The Mardi Gras mask is one of the most recognized symbols of the ritual today.
Masks, decorated platforms, invitations, and many other items associated with this ritual are colored purple, green, and gold. Purple is used to symbolize justice, green for faith, and gold to represent power. The origins of these colors and their symbolic meaning are based on one of the most famous krewes, “Rex,” founded in 1872. The Rex Organization used these colors in their coat