Mardi Gras: Mardi Gras: Faith

The Rex Organization — the group founded in 1872 that’s also famous for starting the tradition of naming a parading Carnival King — claims credit for the purple, green and gold color scheme now associated with Mardi Gras. That was the color-scheme of their 1892 “Symbolism of Colors” parade, and the three shades are said to symbolize justice, faith and power, respectively. Time

Meanwhile, Alabama news site AL.com reports that the Boeuf Gras Society, a mystic society started in Mobile in 1710, kicked off a 1711 parade down Dauphin Street with a giant bull’s head on wheels (the fatted bull was used in ancient Carnival celebrations in France). History.com

Church reformers may have helped to propagate the pagan rumors, these experts say, in the hope of dissuading pre-Lenten hedonism. History.com

They worshiped everything living and everything dead, for voodoo embraces death as its company, not its enemy. The Poisonwood Bible

Mardi Gras is a Christian holiday and popular cultural phenomenon that dates back thousands of years to pagan spring and fertility rites. History.com

As a result, the excess and debauchery of the Mardi Gras season became a prelude to Lent, the 40 days of fasting and penance between Ash Wednesday and Easter Sunday. History.com

Shrove Tuesday derives from the Anglo-Saxon Christian practice of going to confession and being shriven, or absolved of sins before the 40-day fast leading up to Easter. It marked the final day to use up eggs and other fatty foods before abstinence, and pancakes were the perfect solution (hence the alternate holiday name). People

Along the way, Shrove Tuesday emerged as the last day of Shrovetide, the week preceding the start of Lent. The word Shrovetide is the English equivalent of Carnival, which comes from the Latin words carnem levare, meaning “to take away the flesh.” “To shrive” means to hear confessions, according to Catholic theologian Father William P. Saunders. CNN.com

Then the effort to make good on that vow is what defines us as human beings. Sugar Changed the World: A Story of Magic, Spice, Slavery, Freedom, and Science

The blazing torches lighting the way for parade-goers during nighttime Mardi Gras festivities are called flambeaux (French for torch), and they date back to a custom established by the original Mardi Gras krewe, Comus. In the mid-19th century, the torches were a necessity due to the lack of sufficient street lighting. History.com

Mardi Gras is a tradition that dates back thousands of years to pagan celebrations of spring and fertility, including the raucous Roman festivals of Saturnalia and Lupercalia. History.com

In the decades that followed, New Orleans and other French settlements began marking the holiday with street parties, masked balls and lavish dinners. When the Spanish took control of New Orleans, however, they abolished these rowdy rituals, and the bans remained in force until Louisiana became a U.S. state in 1812. History.com

The cake has a trinket or baby figurine baked inside it to symbolize Christ and is eaten throughout Carnival festivities. Just as in Roman times, the person who finds the trinket is crowned king or queen of the Carnival, a distinction that carries various duties depending on the culture, from preparing tamales for the next family party to riding on a parade float. CNN.com

Years later he would comment that both books struck him as religious, in the sense that the characters were searching for an ultimate power and a meaning to life. Mountains Beyond Mountains

We encounter many signs of “spirituality” among the owners—books like Ten Things I Learned about Life in My Garden and inspirational wall hangings urging centeredness. Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America

In a separate chamber, they came upon a ghoulish spectacle: four monumental coffins, containing the skeletons of the 17th century Prussian king, Frederick the Great, Field Marshall von Hindenburg, and his wife. Salon

“Although Mobile’s Mardi Gras history is more complicated than one would think,” Walton says, “Mobile’s claim as the ‘Mother of the Mystics’ is legitimate.” History.com

There’s power in allowing yourself to be known and heard, in owning your unique story, in using your authentic voice. Becoming

Such cooperation was one of the important trademarks of Homo sapiens, and gave it a crucial edge over other human species. Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind

Besides this, at the appropriate times of the year he should keep the populace occupied with festivals and spectacles. The Prince

First, shared ideology or religion helps solve the problem of how unrelated individuals are to live together without killing each other—by providing them with a bond not based on kinship. Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies

Would ancient Sapiens have been more tolerant towards an entirely different human species? Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind

Humankind paid for its lofty vision and industrious hands with backaches and stiff necks. Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind

Recalling the Mars Jars experiments, Vishniac believed that life was tenacious and that Antarctica was perfectly consistent with microbiology. Cosmos

I promised myself I would be more vigilant in taking measures to ensure my safety. Proud

There was a fervid outbreak of new beliefs. The Heart is a Lonely Hunter

There was no one more zealous; I gave my life to it; I served it with a passion. The Amber Spyglass

She could not make out the distinct syllables, but they made her heart ache, for they were all sounds of yearning—each being who cried out was crying out for freedom. Huntress

Traditionally, in the days leading up to Lent, merrymakers would binge on all the rich, fatty foods—meat, eggs, milk, lard and cheese—that remained in their homes, in anticipation of several weeks of eating only fish and different types of fasting. History.com

Masks and costumes have been associated with Shrove Tuesday celebrations for centuries. And even today of the masks commonly seen in New Orleans on Mardi Gras are the same types popularized by the two-to-three-week-long Carnivale in Venice that culminates with Fat Tuesday. Time