Mardi Gras: Sex, Masks, Food And Love, A Brief History Of The Best Mystery Party In the World
Laissez les bons temps rouler! Let the good times roll because it’s Fat Tuesday! The name is derived for the practice of enjoying FATTY (and let’s be honest- the most delicious foods) before Lent starts the following Wednesday. If you missed Sunday school, Lent is the 40-day long fast when Christians give up some of the things they most enjoy. It’s a sign of sacrifice and self-discipline that represents Jesus Christ’s 40 day sojourn in the desert before dying on the cross and rising again three days later. But how did we get such a wild party with religious influences?
Well it always wasn’t influenced by Catholicism. Mardi Gras is said to have pagan roots that date centuries back to the ancient roman festival of Lupercalia traditionally held in February. The festival celebrates health and fertility and involved sacrifice of various animals (usually goats) prepared by vestal virgins with blood marking their foreheads. Partiers would strip the flesh of goats and sew the animal hide into furry thongs that wore to revel in…The name of these goat thongs were called, februare, and you guessed it, where we have the word February today.
Image source: Public Domain / Wikimedia
Beyond animal sacrifice there was plenty of feasting, drinking and random sex. The Romans really knew how to party : ) Apparently these festivals began in a cave called the Lupercal on a hill outside of Rome. The cave is infamous as the hiding place for twin brothers Romulus and Remus who were abandoned the wild by King Amulius of Alba. The babes were nursed to health by a “she-wolf.” To this day, the image of the twins suckling a she-wolf has been the symbol of the city of Rome.
As the Roman Catholic Church began to rise in popularity, so did conservative Christian morals. However, communities blended new religious beliefs and holidays with age-old traditions as a way to help people transition from paganism to organized religion. Today, Mardi Gras stretches back in American history to the late 1700’s. If you’ve visited the outlying city of Mobile, Alabama you’ll learn that it hold’s the distinction of the first Mardi Gras in the United States… not NOLA as most people believe. The issue is hotly debated…
You may see the influence of Venetian Carnevale and masquerade masks in New Orleans today. Yep, you’re right there’s a connection! Originally masks were worn in the 13th century during Venetian celebrations to conceal identity. These fetes were open to the bourgeois as well as the lower class simultaneously at parties. Masks allowed for upper and lower classes to mingle without revealing class or identity. Well, there’s that… and the disguise also allowed for discretion for activities in which concealing one’s identity came in handy: affairs and mistresses, gambling, murder and just about any other indulgence that came to mind. Today, Masquerade masks are synonymous with Mardi Gras and New Orleans. In fact, it’s ILLEGAL to not wear a mask or face paint while on a float and conversely, the wearing of masks in public outside of Halloween, the circus and Mardi Gras is illegal!
Mardi Gras isn’t simply a party. Like the city itself, Mardi Gras too is the blending of cultures, traditions, religions, the rich and the poor, and it’s been happening around the world for centuries, not just the United States. It’s the great equalizer where people lay down their differences and come together to celebrate the best-of-the-best in life without fear of ridicule or discrimination. For a moment in February people gather to unapologetically, without permission. allow themselves to be wildly and wonderfully free. Free from societal expectations, free to be their most primitive or most hidden, and perhaps most authentic selves. It’s funny how putting on a mask can show one’s true self. Besides, Mardi Gras has all the hallmarks of a GREAT party AND a GREAT mystery. What’s hidden behind that mask tells a story—Who doesn’t love illicit affairs, hidden identities set against the backdrop of delicious food and the best party in the United States!
