Mardi Gras traditions run deep

By Jessica Jones

Mobile and Baldwin counties have a rich history of European influence, Native-American culture — just as the rest of our nation, we pride ourselves on eclectic roots and a melting pot of people and ideas. But many aspects of our history differ from other areas. Namely, French influence has left remnants like Bienville Square, seafood gumbo and Mardi Gras.

David Cooper, former president of the Mobile Carnival Association and locally-known “Mr. Mardi Gras,” wrote “A King's History of Mardi Gras” that explains how area residents can feel proud of a colorful: i.e., purple, green and gold past.

“I am asked a lot about Mardi Gras and its roots,” he said. “I never seem to have it written down so I thought I would write down my understanding of the history of Mobile's Mardi Gras, which is the greatest free show on earth. There is not another celebration in Mobile that comes close to Mardi Gras.”

Traditions run deep, but today’s version looks a little different, he said.

“On Mardi Gras Day (Fat Tuesday) the carnival season climaxes with floats and costumes while people of all ages line the streets to watch the parades pass by,” he divulged. “Everyone enjoys the day in their own way. People scramble for ‘throws,’ dance to the marching bands and enjoy a good time with family and friends. Why do these grownups dress in costume, climb on floats and throw trinkets and candy to the crowd? Well, it all started a long time ago.”

He said that Greeks celebrated a pagan festival about 5,000 during spring to thank the gods for surviving the harsh winter.

“The Greeks sacrificed a goat and used its blood to sprinkle in the fields to pay homage to the earth,” he said. This all took place in the Arcadian Hills of Greece. The pagan priest would flog the revelers with a whip made from the skin of the goat being eaten by all. Another version of this celebration has the revelers throwing flour (a symbol of life) upon the fields along with the goat's blood to petition the gods for better crops. The pagan festival grew into a countrywide celebration.”

When the Romans conquered the Greeks, they joined in the celebration; they even brought the celebration home and added their own traditions, Cooper explained.

“The Roman version of the celebration was a little different as they furnished whips to all the participants,” according to “A King's History of Mardi Gras.” “The participants whipped each other to purify themselves of sin, and pandemonium was the order of the day. The Romans started the practice of masking and killed the fattened ox (boeuf gras) to commemorate the occasion. A crown of gold leaves and bouquets of flowers adorned the fattened ox. The ox was led over a grating and subsequently killed with a consecrated spear.”

The celebration continued to grow.

“This festival (Lupercailis) grew to last 30 days,” he said. “The Roman ‘festival of joy’ was actually celebrated on March 25th; on this day, most of the laws of the land were abandoned…There was no sin or vice too outlandish. Robbery, rape, rioting and even murder were ignored on this day in the name of this pagan celebration. Costumes were elaborate and usually used to cover up such despicable behavior. This celebration degenerated into the lowest depths that man could sink and still survive.”

Within the past 100 years, Christianity had grown in leaps and bounds.

“The church leaders had an impossible task to convert the Roman multitudes while they still practiced this pagan celebration which appealed to so many,” he revealed. “Even the discussion of fasting, prayer, self denial and the love of God was very difficult competition against this wild pagan celebration. The church decided to change its strategy and adopt a parallel celebration to coincide with the pagan celebration in hopes that they would eventually attract the multitudes to the Christian version of this celebration of spring.”

But the Christian leaders needed consistency for the holiday celebration.

“At a church conference in Nicaea (in Asia Minor) in 325 AD, a date for Easter Sunday was permanently fixed,” he explained. “The church’s greatest feast day could now be celebrated simultaneously throughout the world. The Nicaean Creed, as it was officially designated, set Easter as the first Sunday after the Paschal full moon. This would give moonlight to the pilgrims who traveled so far to the Easter festival. Ash Wednesday would begin the six weeks of Lent; it was also determined at this time.”

The holiday has adapted to fit today’s needs.

“The Carnival celebration allowed Christians to have a good time before the forty days (excluding Sundays) of Lent,” he explained. “At Lent, self-denial and fasting would be observed to honor Christ for 40 days. I've always heard that another more practical reason for this church sanctioned festival was to allow the people to eat all the foods which could not be eaten during Lent. In fact, I don't believe they were allowed to keep these types of foods in their homes during Lent. These types of food were: meat, butter, milk, cheese, eggs and any kind of fat. The Christian church was becoming stronger and stronger. Along with the Christian church, Carnival became popular through Christianity and spread to all parts of the world. Rich tempting food, music, dancing and general good times were trademarks of this worldwide celebration.”

Mobile and Baldwin county roots were founded by French traditions.

“The French gave us the name and this is what we use for our celebration on Fat Tuesday,” according to Cooper. “Today, Mobilians are continuing to add their own ideas to those introduced to us over the 5,000 year period. In the early days of Mobile's Mardi Gras, flour was thrown in the ancient Greek tradition. It was later mimicked by throwing confetti…”

He explained that current celebrations encourage unity and happiness.

“Today, in Mobile, we focus on the positive aspects of this celebration of spring which was created by the Christian Church in 325 A.D.,” he said. “Our version of Mardi Gras concentrates on the wholesome family type atmosphere produced by street parades and public socializing. This is punctuated by individual groups of citizens joining together to celebrate the season with balls, receptions and pageantry.”