New Orleans Night Clubs, Bars, Lounges

Here in New Orleans we have some of the greatest variety of music that you will ever have the pleasure of listing to. It's a known fact that there is hardly a street in the French Quarter that you can go down without the sweet sound of Jazz, Zydeco and many others flowing out into the streets like the drinks flow in the clubs. With this in mind we decided to add the New Orleans Bar Scene pages and we will be adding new bars and there contact information so that next time your planning a trip to the Big Easy, you will be well prepared to soak in all the sights and sounds that is uniquely New Orleans.

Is Carnival the same as Mardi Gras?

Is Carnival the same as Mardi Gras?

Carnival, which originated from the Latin word "carnem levare" which means no meat. Christians performed baptisms on Easter Sunday. People would pray & fast before they were baptized, so this soon became the tradition we call Lent. Carnival is the season between Christmas and Lent which begins in New Orleans on the Twelfth Night and continues until the midnight of Fat Tuesday ( Mardi Gras Day ), the day before Ash Wednesday and the beginning of Lent. The date for Ash Wednesday changes and depends on the date of Easter. The exciting weeks of Carnival are filled with elegant balls, fancy banquets and other Carnival related social activities. Both children and adults quickly began to love the exciting holiday Carnival.

"Mardi Gras" , French for Fat Tuesday is the day before Ash Wednesday. Mardi Gras is always 47 days before Easter Sunday and can fall between February 3 and March 9. Mardi Gras is generally used to refer to the whole Carnival season, especially during the final two weeks when most of the parades occur in New Orleans. Most New Orleanians refer to the entire Carnival season as "Mardi Gras" but some traditionalist of Mardi Gras may make a big deal over the technical term.

The History of Mardi Gras:

Mardi Gras came to or was introduced to New Orleans by the French explorer Pierre Le Moyne, Sieur d'Iberville in 1699. The early explorers celebrated Mardi Gras right off the banks of the Mississippi River. Iberville sailed into the Gulf of Mexico and on March 3 of 1699, he set up camp on the west bank of the Mississippi river about 60 miles south of New Orleans. However, Mardi Gras was a major holiday in Paris which was celebrated since the Middle Ages. Mardi Gras was being celebrated in France at this time and to honor this important day, Sieur d'Iberville named the site Point du Mardi Gras.

As the years went by, New Orleans added to the Mardi Gras celebration by developing krewes. These organizations (krewes) host Mardi Gras Balls and parades.

Mardi Gras' traditional colors are Purple, Green & Gold. Mardi Gras' colors were choose in 1892 when the Krewe of Rex gave the colors their meaning in the theme "Symbolism of Colors" parade.

• Purple represents justice
• Green stands for faith
• Gold stands for power

Mardi Gras is not a National holiday however it is a very traditional holiday. It is not only celebrated here in New Orleans but across some other southern states such as Mississippi, Alabama, Texas, Georgia, and even Florida.

During the early 1800's Mardi Gras celebrations centered around partiers with mask who was on foot, they also rode in carriages as well as on horseback. In 1837 the first parade was documented. During the 1840's & 50's because of the "maskers" violent behavior Mardi Gras gained a negative reputation. The situation became so outrageous that the press started calling to put an end to the Mardi Gras celebration.

In 1857, six New Orleanians saved the Mardi Gras celebration by establishing the Comus krewe/organization. These six men were former members of an organization called the Cowbellians. This organization held New Year's Eve parades, in Mobile since 1831. The Comus organization showed the press the beauty and potential of Mardi Gras and demonstrated to them how it could be a safe, fun and festive event. Comus was the first to use the term krewe. The Mystick Krewe of Comus was also the first parade krewe to name itself after a mythological character. Comus also started a secret Carnival society. They held a parade which had floats. They would then have a ball after the parade, which was not open to the public and only krewe members were invited. The Civil War interrupted Mardi Gras but in 1866 Comus returned.

1 Dozen 6' Mardi Gras BOAS Pink & Black Tip Feather Boas

1 Dozen 6' Mardi Gras BOAS Pink & Black Tip Feather Boas.