Having only the knowledge gained from the media and some late night video infomercials, I really did not have a good understanding of what Mardi Gras was truly about until some research. Oddly enough the holiday is religious in nature but has come to represent something far from what its original meaning was in the beginning. Earlier tracing of the holiday can be followed to Roman control. Then Mardi Gras, or carnival as it is simply called here and in other countries, was called Lupercalia. The Mardi Gras as we know it is a weeks long celebration beginning with Epiphany and continuing through Fat Tuesday (Mardi Gras day) preceding Ash Wednesday and the period of Lent. My Mardi Gras experience began with a parade in Baton Rouge on Saturday night with the Krewe of Poseidon. This year was the first year of this parade and they came out armed with extra “goodies” to commemorate their inaugural season. My 4-year-old loved this parade since every float had something special to give her and the people we were standing with were helping her catch as much as she could. At one moment, she looked like Mr. T with probably 40 strands of beads around her neck all the way up to her ear lobes! We went the following day to New Orleans to view parades from Magazine St. However, we were stuck in the most horrific traffic I have ever experienced for OVER 3 HOURS!!!!! After much cursing, we finally found our way out of it and to a parking spot. We did see one parade from inside the car as we were driving and saw the Krewe of Thoth once we arrived at Brad’s house. I was most surprised by how the people acted in New Orleans as compared to what we had experienced in Baton ROuge the night before. Grown women were trying to pull things given to my daughter out of her hands! After the float would pass, these same women would then act like they were our friends and even comment on how cute my daughter was but once another float came, they were all about getting all they could and keeping anyone else away! Crazy behavior for stuff that most will throw away in a few days. I mean what would a 40-year-old lady need with a small plastic tiara??  We then attempted to watch the Krewe of Bacchus parade further down the street but after a drunk fell on me and several people tried to knock my daughter off my wife’s shoulders, we called it quits and returned to Brad’s house for some peace and quiet waiting for the rest of our group to return. Below are some images I captured from both days.

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