Service Article(revised)
IT'S MARDI GRAS!!!!! Yes, New Orleans' famous Carnival season is this years' never-ending party and you're invited. Mardi Gras, famous for its colorful and cultural parades, is an experience you can't go any longer w/out! The Streets are packed with both tourists and Native Louisianans as they celebrate Mardi Gras in full color and sound. . The Huge Parades come flashing down the street we fresh music, an explosion of lights, and spectacular floats. Everyone is having a great time, enjoying the festivities of the parade. So you're new to Mardi Gras, but don't want to act like it? Here in brief, are the basic facts about Americas' greatest party.
Carnival season begins on January sixth while the actual date of Mardi Gras varies every year. Mardi Gras Day is the "Fat Tuesday" before Ash Wednesday and Lent. Ok, you will need to know a bit about its' history. The origin of Mardi Gras can be traced back to Rome in the middle ages w/ the welcoming of Spring. In 1872, the appearance of Rex as the King of Mardi Gras brought about the presentation of Carnivals' colors, flag and anthem. The colors of Mardi Gras are purple , gold, and green. While they were probably chosen simply because they looked good together, a meaning was assigned to each of them by King Rex. Purple represents "justice", Green stands for "faith", and Gold signifies "power". A group known in the 1830's as the Comus organization established several Mardi Gras traditions such as the word "Krewe" which is the name for the parades members. Comus also chose
mythological names for the Parades for more of a rich tradition. Many of the Popular Parades are named after Greek Gods such as Bacchus, Orpheus, Endymion, and even the African parade, Zulu.
Nowadays, the actual Parades are organized mainly of large colorful floats pulled by tractors or Mack trucks. These floats are usually two