Mardi Gras is the annual Carnival celebration in Mobile, Alabama. It is the oldest official Carnival celebration in the United States, started by Frenchman Nicholas Langlois in 1703 when Mobile was the capital of Louisiana. Although today New Orleans and South Louisiana celebrations are much more widely known for all the current traditions such as masked balls, parades, floats and throws were first created there.[1][2] From Mobile being the first capital of French Louisiana (1702), the festival began as a French Catholic tradition. Mardi Gras has now evolved into a mainstream multi-week celebration across the spectrum of cultures, becoming school holidays for the final Monday and Tuesday (some include Wednesday), regardless of religious affiliation.[3][4]
Although the area has traditions of exclusive societies, with formal masked balls and elegant costumes, the celebration has evolved over the past three centuries to become typified by public parades where members of societies, often masked, on floats or horseback, toss gifts (known as throws) to the general public. Throws include necklaces of plastic beads, doubloon coins, decorated plastic cups, candy, wrapped cakes known as Moonpies or snacks, stuffed animals, and small toys, footballs, frisbees, or whistles.[5][6]
The masked balls or dances, where non-masked men wear white tie and tails (full dress or costume de rigueur) and the women wear full length evening gowns, are oriented to adults, with some mystic societies treating the balls as an extension of the debutante season of their exclusive social circles. Various nightclubs and local bars offer their own particular events.
Beyond the public parades, Mardi Gras involves many various mystic societies, some having begun in 1704, or ending with the Civil War, while new societies were formed every century. Some mystic societies are never seen in public parades, but rather hold invitation-only events for their secret members, with private balls beginning in November, each year.
- ^ [1], The History of Mardi Gras in Mobile Alabama, USA Today
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
slacwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ McGill-Toolen Catholic High School Calendar for February 3, 2008], Archdiocese of Mobile, November 2007.
- ^ Westlawn Elementary – All Events for February 2008, Westlawn Elementary, Mobile, Alabama, 2007
- ^ Mobile Chamber of Commerce: Mobile Mardi Gras Archived 2007-02-14 at the Wayback Machine, Chamber of Commerce, 2007.
- ^ Gulf Coast's oldest Mardi Gras,USA TODAY, January 26, 2004.