Farewell To Flesh (pics from Mardi Gras 2007)

Right now on the streets of New Orleans, Carnival is in full swing. Revel without a pause on Mardi Gras! The word Carnival is derived from the Latin word carnelevare. This means to lift up or relieve from flesh or meat. I have also heard the translation farewell to flesh. And when you think about it, carne va (Spanish) and la carne va (Italian) means meat goes.
Wednesday, February 6 is Ash Wednesday. The Roman Catholic tradition is to fast on this day and to abstain from meat. Friday's during Lent are days of abstaining from meat. It is also the Roman Catholic tradition to give up something during Lent...and giving up things you don't like doesn't count! So with all of this fasting and abstinence, revelers over indulge on Mardi Gras.
You may also be familiar with boeuf gras. This is the slaughter of a fatted calf on the Tuesday before Ash Wednesay. Hence the translation of Mardi Gras (French) means Fat Tuesday.

Mardi Gras in New Orleans carries many traditions with it. Krewes. Masquerade Balls. Flambeauxs. Neutral Ground. Rex. King Cake. Beads. Doubloons. Zulu. I highly recommend this website if you would like to know the history and traditions behind Mardi Gras in New Orleans.

Mardi Gras Colors: Purple represents justice; green represents faith; gold represents power. They were introduced by Rex in 1892.


I have many memories from spending time in New Orleans for Mardi Gras. One year, my entourage was one of the most photographed. We wore overalls without shirts or underwear and they were unbuttoned. Our Tom Sawyer hats were covered in gold glitter, crawfish, masks and beads. Our fishing poles had honeycomb fish. That was the same year that I had pink eye.


Then there was the year my entourage were Hula Boys. We were very popular. So popular that when I got back to my room that afternoon with a crawfish pie, an egg roll and a new friend, I noticed that my grass skirt only had two strands of grass. People had pulling at it all day. Good thing I had a Speedo on underneath it.

That was the same year that one our friends was running around barefoot and speaking gibberish in the middle of Burgundy Street. For whatever reason, two friends brought him to my room to see if I could calm him down. HE decides he wants to earn some of my beads. I went blind.

Then there was the year that I dropped my phone in the middle of Bourbon Street and it fell apart. I was crawling through the street trying to pick up the pieces.

How about the year that it was colder than all get out but that wasn't going to stop me from drinking my big, red frozen drink while the wind whipped around me in the CBD while watching Endymion?

There have been many a day when breakfast consisted of a Bloody Mary from The Pub and lunch was a big frozen Daquiri with a Po Boy. AttyHou and I also have a tradition of going upstairs to Lafittes to get a Long Island Ice Tea. They're quite yummy and 4 or 5 of them will make you a bit woozy.

Some of my best memories though are spending the afternoons Uptown watching the parades. And that is why I HAD to go to Mardi Gras following Hurricane Katrina. I needed to see my friends who had returned and who were trying to rebuild their lives. We met Uptown and waited for Zulu and Rex to make their return. It's what the City needed. It's what I needed.

Laissez les bon temps rouler!