we live in a world where everyone likes
to party every way you turn you see
events taking place dedicated solely to
get in on your level
none of those left the level of
America's biggest party season since
Mardi Gras 177 years ago New Orleans
changed forever the signing of the Mardi
Gras agree shaped the entire landscape
of the Crescent City well Katrina hit
New Orleans and I moved to Houston for
three years
the two biggest questions that I
received was do you know Lil Wayne and
was mighty gravity like back then I
couldn't really answer because I was
only in the seventh grade my biggest
concern at the time was marching during
the parade season with my trumpet in
hand with lumber the school banner now
that I'm older doing able to grasp the
concept of Mardi Gras it's only right
that I revisit that question in this
video the goal is for you to leave with
a for 360 view of Almighty God and how
the tradition made as we all the way
down to New Orleans
what is Mardi Gras Mardi Gras is a
French term based on a religious event
that translates into Fat Tuesday
Catholicism is the home of Mardi Gras
and the holiday is a very important part
of the mid season Fat Tuesday falls on
the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday which
is the first day of fasting leading up
to Easter 46 days later there are some
researchers that believe that mighty
grab dates back to the Roman holiday
Saturn million but this isn't historical
fact my regards often viewed as a way to
let yourself go before the fasting
beginnings additionally people would eat
fatty foods eating up to Lent and hence
the term Fat Tuesday Mardi Gras has
since evolved into a worldwide
celebration
the two biggest hosts of these
celebrations are in New Orleans and in
Rio de Janeiro for the Rio Carnival
during these festivals hundreds and
thousands of people travel to one
location of party incident a Noma Getty
photographer Mario Thomas a New Orleans
native discovered a lot of parallels
between the South American nation and
world now there's this big debate that
goes on every year between mobile
natives and the world's neighbors about
who started Mardi Gras now to clear this
up and I'm going to detail in another
video on March 2nd in 1699 the French
Canadian Explorer John Bettis Bienville
arrived at a pot of brown 60 miles
directly south of New Orleans and named
it went to Mardi Gras now they named the
pointy mighty grab because they landed
there almighty Gras day so in being
billed established before Louie de la
Louisiana which is normal build in 1702
they celebrated the first official night
around 7 0 3 out there although mighty
grab still held in mobility wireless
takes the crown for the biggest
celebration in the world since Mardi
Gras tis a religious holiday and linked
to the moon cycles the day changes
everywhere mighty graph of 2020 will be
on the 25th of February the season for
my regards to weeks leading up to Fat
Tuesday
these two weeks are filled with parades
that feature larger than life floats
mass gift-givers and a lot of music
the biggest parades are held on mighty
Gras day the Monday before mighty
grinding on this lundi Gras is also a
pretty big day during the season this
year there will be over 80 parades
scheduled in New Orleans alone so
tourists I say five days before Tuesday
should be a target at arrival day this
gives you enough time to enjoy the city
and taking the energy of the parade
although the parade's are the main
attractions there are a lot of things
that you can do our New Orleans for
Mardi Gras one of the biggest things
that come to mind is mighty bra world
it's a place where most of the floats
are constructed at story mighty Gras
floats can cost up to fifty thousand to
create per float the only downside to
visiting mighty Gras world during the
season is that many of the floats will
be on the streets and not in the
warehouse other aspects of my tigre
include king cakes
Mardi Gras balls mighty Gras Indians the
flammable and social impression club's
before I dig a little deeper into the
Mardi Gras traditions I want to ask
what's your favorite thing about Mardi
Gras
the average American may assumed that my
tigre is all about parties but it gets
much deeper than that you may have heard
the term improvements or twice the
mighty grog fools are a very important
aspect of the Carnival season accrual is
a social organization that puts on a
parade or a bar for the Carnival season
the term is best known for its
association with mighty Gras
celebrations in New Orleans
each crew has a king and a queen that
works hard during the year for the big
ball the identities of the king and
queen are closely guarded secrets into
the night of the ball most of the bars
are formal and private the invitations
used to be die-cut and printed in Paris
France supercruise like Endymion and
Orpheus are known for having extravagant
balls held in the highest-profile
locations in the world's my personal
favorite part of the Mardi Gras season
are the Indians
[Applause]
[Music]
you
Larry been a past president of the nola
Mardi Gras Indian Council said Mardi
Gras Indians are secretive because only
certain people participated in masking
the matters our Indians are made up of
African Americans who are left out of
the mainstream I too got editions due to
racism in slavery we have to find our
own way to celebrate matters on our
neighborhoods the culture of a masking
Indian is at least about 300 years old
so we pretty much hold it in the city
and it's a lot of stories that's been
told about the mask and culture or Mardi
Gras Indians as they sue you know
labeled us because we couldn't come out
we couldn't wear our traditional
clothing indigenous clothing so that was
the only time you could actually be who
you were I think one of the governments
of Louisiana passed a law that black
folks couldn't wear feathers they
couldn't look Indian so that that's one
of the days dad in st. Joseph night that
we were allowed to put on these we call
them suits culture clue traditionally
the crews modeled their structure from
Greek and Roman things the names usually
mirrored those of mythological heroes
and diets the structure of the crew is
copy royal hierarchy black people were
kept out of these traditions for more
reasons than one this led to the
development of our own traditions the
Mardi Gras Indians named themselves
after the Native Americans the purpose
of this was to pay respect to the tribes
who helped slaves escape captivity
it was often local Indians who accepted
slaves into the society when they made a
break for freedom they had never
forgotten the support
in an interview with chief bald eagle
Roger he explained how many black
Americans were native to this land prior
to the Africans being brought over come
with you call me taking on like another
person what is the indigenous culture
and this Maskin culture is it's all
throughout the Caribbean and in some
parts of Africa so we were you know
we've been in America before the slave
trade so we've always been so to some of
the people that they call in African
Americans and pretty much may not have
anything to do with Africa the Tri spent
all year making their extravagant suits
by hand that consist of bright feathers
beads and embroidery there are strong
Native American influences on black
people especially in New Orleans
[Music]
another big part of New Orleans
especially during the Mardi Gras season
are the social Aid and pleasure Club my
social Aid and Pleasure clubs are
basically the originators the organizers
and the sponsors at the second line
parade social City was made famous for
CSS rules autobiography my life in New
Orleans he was that when he was a child
he needs to watch those clubs parade and
it was an irresistible and absolutely
unique experience every time one of
those clubs paraded like a second-line
with them all day long the social Aid
and Pleasure clubs were basically
created from organizations called the
benevolent societies and which will
basically groups that perform charitable
works in the communities and provide a
social aid to disenfranchised
communities so knowing the history about
the social Aid and pleasure Club is
really important in New Orleans and they
told her they're about 70 social Aid and
Pleasure clubs in the waters alone the
king cake tradition is the key to an
authentic Mardi Gras experience
according to the Christian faith Christ
first showed themselves to the three
wise women on the twelfth night baking
aid the Epiphany this is the day that
mighty gar season starts this is why
small porcelain our plastic baby is put
inside of the cakes
if you find one you'll be responsible
for bringing the next teen cake to the
party the researchers believe that Cain
cakes from brought over from France in
the late 1800s there were a ring of
dough baked and topped with sugar
braiding and baking the dough gives the
traditional king cake look did you know
that float riders are required to wear
masks by law this comes from the idea
that everyone should be treated fairly
during this season the masked tradition
came from different societies around the
world who wear them during rituals and
celebrations the masks allow people to
escape the reality of social class and
constraints this is the time of the year
that no one forgets especially if you
live in New Orleans for neighbors of New
Orleans Mardi Gras is that one time of
the year will you see everyone it's the
time for reconnecting with childhood
friends and family members that you
haven't seen in a long time wireless
natives are resilient we have suffered a
lot in his lifetime so to train the two
the housing development crisis of the
90s we've been through a lot this is why
we celebrated this is why we do so hard
during the Carnival season
mighty grass serves as a reminder that
we're still here
[Music]