Mardi Gras came to New Orleans through its French heritage in 1699. Early explorers celebrated this French Holiday on the banks of the Mississippi River. Throughout the years, Orleanians have added to the celebration by establishing krewes (organizations) which host parades and balls. Carnival quickly became an exciting holiday for both children and adults.
Mardi Gras means "Fat Tuesday" and of course is celebrated on that day of the week. The date can fall between February 3 and March 9 depending on the Lunar calendar, used by the Catholic Church to determine the date of Easter. Mardi Gras is always 47 days before Easter Sunday.
Mardi Gras means "Fat Tuesday" and of course is celebrated on that day of the week. The date can fall between February 3 and March 9 depending on the Lunar calendar, used by the Catholic Church to determine the date of Easter. Mardi Gras is always 47 days before Easter Sunday.
The official colors for Mardi Gras are purple, green, and gold. These colors were chosen in 1872 by the King of Carnival, Rex. He chose these colors to stand for the following:
Purple represents justice
green stands for faith
gold stands for power
The Mardi Gras season begins on January 6 and continues until Fat Tuesday, the day before Ash Wednesday. On the Christian calendar, the twelfth day after Christmas is known as "Epiphany", "Twelfth Night", or "Kings Day." It is the day the gift-bearing Magi visited the baby Jesus, and is celebrated with its own unique rituals.
Mardi Gras is a traditional holiday celebrated in many of the southern states of the USA. The most famous celebration takes place in New Orleans, Louisiana. The people there enjoy this celebration by going to parades where they catch "beads, doubloons, cups, and trinkets" that are all thrown from floats. They have masquerade balls and dress up in costumes for these events. King Cakes are eaten during this holiday.
Books:
Mimi's First Mardi Gras by Alice Couvillon, Elizabeth Moore, Marilyn Carter Rougelot (Illustrator)
Going to New Orleans to Visit Weezie Anna by Mary Beth Pisano
Mardi Gras: A Pictorial History of Carnival in New Orleans by Leonard V. Huber
Crafts:
http://www.mardigrasday.com/mardigras/mini.php Shoe Box Floats
http://www.makingfriends.com/mardi_gras.htm Crafts-Masks, Crowns, Hats, Floats
http://theholidayspot.com/mardigras/crafts.htm Crafts, Floats, Face Painting, Others
http://www.makingfriends.com/jesters_hat.htm Jester's Hat
http://www.enchantedlearning.com/crafts/mardigras/ Crafts
http://familycrafts.about.com/cs/mardigrascrafts/a/blmgnoise1.htm Noise Maker
http://www.mardigrasday.com/mardigras/kcrecip.php King Cake Recipe
Resources:
http://www.sabine.k12.la.us/zes/mardigras/default.htm Links to Great Resources
http://edhelper.com/DailyThemes_February_8_1.html Great Theme Unit
http://www.lessonplanspage.com/MardiGrasShoeboxParadeIdea25.htm Lesson Float Ideas
http://www.lessonplanspage.com/LAMDMardiGras-PancakeDayUsingBooksK4.htm Pancake Day-Books and Resources
http://teacherlink.ed.usu.edu/tlresources/units/Byrnes-celebrations/mardigra.html Celebrations Unit Gr. 4-5
http://homeschooling.about.com/od/holidays/ss/mardigrasprint_8.htm Assorted Resources
http://mardigrasday.com/lesson_912.php Lessons for Gr. 9-12
http://www.education-world.com/a_tsl/archives/00-1/lesson0038.shtml Lessons K-8
http://geocities.com/mrsjacksonsclass/mardigras.htm Mrs. Jackson's Class Themes-Resources
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