Now, that's not true! And lest I sound harsh, since we all know the limitations of text, please know that I offer this in the good natured manner of mutual friends, and don't intend it as any kind of smack-down. :)
The festival itself dates to the 2nd century. The name "Mardi Gras" predates the arrival of Europeans in America, as evidenced by the fact that in 1699, Sieur d'Iberville landed in what is now Louisiana on Shrove Tuesday and named the spot Point du Mardi Gras.
As a Cajun myself, I'd also argue that the country Courir de Mardi Gras (Mardi Gras Run) celebration is every bit as important and valid as the New Orleans one, perhaps moreso. If you're not familiar with the Courir do Mardi Gras, it's a fascinating and very medieval-feeling celebration that one can easily imagine being celebrated for hundreds of years. The men (mostly), called "Mardi Gras", wearing crazy, colorful outfits with tall, pointed caps and painted mesh masks, ride a circuit through the back roads, going from farm to farm and begging for something for gumbo. The farm wives will typically give them something, or point out a chicken, alive, which the men must catch. This becomes a wild chase, as the men are usually drunk as skunks, and the ground is usually wet and muddy. Eventually, they arrive at the town square where the women (having left the farm by now) make a huge gumbo from the farm takings. As a child, I rode in it once (with a man so inebriated, I don't know how either of us stayed on his horse), and attended our local hybrid country / city style MG in Carencro, and the small city MG in Lafayette, yearly. The Courir in some towns is moved to Sunday so people can do both. More days for drinking!
Standing on the horses is a big deal for the Mardi Gras.
Furthermore, I'd also point out that the NOLA version of MG is now pretty widespread across the South, although only Louisiana treats it as a day off from work -- similar to Utah's Pioneer's Day, and other regional holidays.
So, MG is neither localized to NOLA only, nor is NOLA the only place MG is celebrated, in name or in spirit.
The festival itself dates to the 2nd century. The name "Mardi Gras" predates the arrival of Europeans in America, as evidenced by the fact that in 1699, Sieur d'Iberville landed in what is now Louisiana on Shrove Tuesday and named the spot Point du Mardi Gras.
As a Cajun myself, I'd also argue that the country Courir de Mardi Gras (Mardi Gras Run) celebration is every bit as important and valid as the New Orleans one, perhaps moreso. If you're not familiar with the Courir do Mardi Gras, it's a fascinating and very medieval-feeling celebration that one can easily imagine being celebrated for hundreds of years. The men (mostly), called "Mardi Gras", wearing crazy, colorful outfits with tall, pointed caps and painted mesh masks, ride a circuit through the back roads, going from farm to farm and begging for something for gumbo. The farm wives will typically give them something, or point out a chicken, alive, which the men must catch. This becomes a wild chase, as the men are usually drunk as skunks, and the ground is usually wet and muddy. Eventually, they arrive at the town square where the women (having left the farm by now) make a huge gumbo from the farm takings. As a child, I rode in it once (with a man so inebriated, I don't know how either of us stayed on his horse), and attended our local hybrid country / city style MG in Carencro, and the small city MG in Lafayette, yearly. The Courir in some towns is moved to Sunday so people can do both. More days for drinking!
Standing on the horses is a big deal for the Mardi Gras.
Furthermore, I'd also point out that the NOLA version of MG is now pretty widespread across the South, although only Louisiana treats it as a day off from work -- similar to Utah's Pioneer's Day, and other regional holidays.
So, MG is neither localized to NOLA only, nor is NOLA the only place MG is celebrated, in name or in spirit.
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