An
intrepid and brave group of members of the Merry Weather Garden Club braved the
melting ice and snow and met on Thursday, February 13th, 2014, in
the Fellowship Hall of the Greenville United Methodist Church. “Laissez les bon
temp rouler” or “Let the good times roll” was more than just the “joie de vivre”
of the moment because the ladies were released from the housebound bondage of three
days of ice and snow, but because the club learned and celebrated Jeudi Gras (Fat
Thursday) as a homage to the Carnival season and the upcoming Mardi Gras, March
4th.
Hosting
the meeting were two with Louisiana roots: Ros Gabriel, from the Rayne,
Louisiana, the Frog Capital of the World and Babs Gordon, who grew up in New Orleans. Ros and Dan Gabriel’s
presentation began with the history of Mardi Gras going back to Rome and Venice
to France and the Bourbons. In the US, Carnival was celebrated in the early
1700s, but it was not until 1856 when the first Krewe, or Mardi Gras paraders,
began.
Dozens
of Carnival parades are held from January 6th Twelfth Night’s Feast
of the Epiphany which marks the end of the Christmas Season to Ash Wednesday which
marks the beginning of Lent. The parades peak during the weeks prior to Mardi
Gras with different parade routes running throughout the day. With the
beginning of the Lenten season, frivolities like chocolate, alcohol, and “fat”
foods are often given up until Easter so hence the great feasting finale on Mardi
Gras or Fat Tuesday.
Ros Gabriel explained that the different krewes
throw different items. While many think
of beads, food, candy, and doubloons as common even coconuts and shoes are
thrown by certain krewes.
The
colorful beaded and feathered costumes are worn by the native Mardi Gras
participants with their krewes while some krewes are specifically for celebrities
and others feature very techie floats. Some krewe names are Krewe of Bacchus, Rex,
Endymion, there is even a Krewe of Barkus, featuring man’s best friend!
In
1872, the Grand Duke of Russia, a Romanoff, was visiting and was allowed to
choose the official Mardi Gras colors: green, gold, and purple. Purple
represents justice; green represents faith; gold represents power-colors you
may see in LSU and Tulane colors! Babs Gordon brought two King Cakes to the club
meeting that were colorfully decorated with the three colors. Explaining the legend, Babs told the group
that a baby Jesus was baked in the cake and the lucky one to have it in their
slice of cake hosted the next Carnival party.
Babs
explained when she was growing up in the forties, they enjoyed King Cake
parties every Friday night and they used a bean not a baby in the cakes. They
attended the lovely parades not known for the bawdy drunkenness you often see
now in New Orleans. The floats then were pulled by horses that were draped in
white attended by grooms dressed in white carrying flambeaux torches that made
for a magical experience and a beacon for parade attendees and party goers.
The
fleur de lis is the official emblem of Mardi Gras and Ros Gabriel explained its
lily originals. Club members shared their Carnival experiences with stories
about being in Venice’s during its elaborate Carnival season, Rio’s rowdy
parades and simple Shrove Tuesday or Pancake Tuesday dinners in the United
States.
The
club enjoyed nonalcoholic Bloody Marys and Hurricanes, classic New Orleans beverages
along with Ros Gabriel’s delicious pot of gumbo, Babs’ King Cakes, and Dan Gabriel’s
beignets hot out of the grease!
The
next meeting will be in March when the club joins the Talisman Club with
Patricia Stribling of Blue Meadow Farm as guide and tours the gardens and home
of Bisham Manor in LaGrange.
