Surrounded by family and friends, Timothy Druhan watches the Krewe of Endymion throw beads, cups and other trinkets to the screaming people in the crowded streets of downtown New Orleans.
Druhan, a business management and marketing sophomore, grew up in Kenner, La. just outside of New Orleans, the most famous Mardi Gras destination. As a New Orleans native, he has seen many aspects of Mardi Gras from being a spectator to being a participant in the annual parades.
“Marching in parades lets you see behind the scenes in a way, getting to see the riders load their floats,” Druhan said.
Mardi Gras, French for Fat Tuesday, is the day before Ash Wednesday, which marks the beginning of the Catholic celebration of Lent.
Mardi Gras and the weeks before it are full of traditions such as Mardi Gras balls, king cakes, doubloons and of course the parades. New Orleans has become famous for its numerous parades, which begin in January and last until midnight on Mardi Gras.
From Zulu to Endymion to Bacchus, Mardi Gras parades consist of elaborately decorated floats with riders who throw beads, cups and stuffed animals. High school and middle school bands march in between the floats playing music to pump up the crowd.
“Endymion is the best parade by far because of the variety of features and the length. The floats are always the best and the overall parade is awesome,” Druhan said.
According to www.mardigrasneworleans.com, the Twelfth Night revelers began throwing trinkets to the crowd in the early 1870s. The official Mardi Gras colors, which were chosen in 1872, have specific meanings–purple represents justice, green represents faith and gold represents power.
      MARDI GRAS BALLS
Mardi Gras balls are another popular tradition with a king and queen, dukes and duchesses and many other members of a krewe selected as royalty. According to the Web site, most balls are formal and are by invitation only. Some invitations are so elaborate they become collector’s items after the event.
Courtney Gremillion, a French senior, attended her first Mardi Gras ball this year and said it was a wonderful way to get in the Mardi Gras spirit.
“The ball was a lot of fun, with a live band, excellent catering and a silent auction for which all proceeds went to [St. Jude Children’s Hospital in Memphis] for research,” Gremillion said.
KING CAKES
Kristie Carline, a Lafayette native and a public relations junior, said one of her favorite things about Mardi Gras are the king cakes.
“For the last few years, my mom and I have made homemade king cakes. Even though they’re not as good as Meche’s [Donut King] cakes, it’s fun to spend time baking together and it gives us a tradition to look forward to every year at this time,” Carline said.
Meche’s Donut King is a popular place to buy king cakes, especially for students from Lafayette where Meche’s originated.
According to Craig Blanchard, owner of Meche’s Donut King in Baton Rouge, king cakes are rich in tradition. For example, they are oval-shaped to symbolize the unity of all religions and are decorated in the carnival colors of purple, green and gold.
Each cake contains a plastic baby, which Blanchard said is symbolic of when the three wise men found baby Jesus. The king cakes are cut into small pieces and whoever finds the baby has to bring the next cake, he said.
However, Blanchard said they no longer put the baby in the cake, it is put on top because of the threat of lawsuits of people choking on the baby, so those who buy the king cake have to put the baby in themselves.
King cake season began Jan. 2, and local king cake bakeries expect to sell a lot of them.
“I’ve been here for a year and seven months and I expect to sell around 2,500 king cakes this season,” Blanchard said. He said the Lafayette branches sell even more because of their popularity.
OTHER TRADITIONS
New Orleans is not the only place to find Mardi Gras parades and traditions. Mardi Gras is celebrated all over Southern Louisiana as well as parts of Texas, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida.
“Mardi Gras, for me, is more of a family tradition than one to party for days in New Orleans. My family and I usually go to Thibodeaux, La. for Mardi Gras, and in my opinion, it is probably a better time than being packed into a crowd of strangers,” Gremillion said.