What's your opinion on Mardi Gras?

[JPop's Mom]

I'm from Louisiana, but no where near New Orleans. Mardi Gras bothers me because I feel it may be sending the wrong message to the rest of the country...."Oh, New Orleans must be OK now, they're having Mardi Gras again"
There are still so many people without homes, and people still missing! I have to admit I've never been to Mardi Gras; I'm just not into the big crowd, party scene, so maybe I'm way off base. I just don't want other places to get the wrong idea. What's your take on this?

[DaisyMaesMom]

I agree with you. I don't think that it's fair for the people that are still trying to rebuild their lives.. I think the New Orleans is looking at it as an avenue of income though and no other way. I know that when I went through Hurricane Andrew there was NO WAY that I was ready to party that soon or even feel like seeing it.. God Bless them!

[Mydogkelsey]

I think they are having it this year to bring in more money to their state..they lost so much so they're trying to give something back..maybe? I know what you mean though..it does send out the message that they dont need our help anymore if they're partying it up. I hear Britney Spears is supossed to be there to help bring in crowds or something..b/c she's from Louisiana. IDK!

[Thorsmomma]

I don't think that it is implying the message that everything is okay at all. I think it is more of a celebration that New Orleans is moving on, that they are holding their ground and rebuilding. I think it says' 'we are strong and we are not going to let THIS tradition be stopped' I totally agree with it. It will help bring money into NO and I think it will be a catalyst for another 'wave', if you will, of people to move back.

[miezzi]

I am kind of torn about it! On one hand, no--I dont' agree with it when there is still soooo much to recover and all that. But on the other hand, I am sitting here watching different news channels where they are showing the true spirit of that city, and well I am soo happy that they are not letting that famous tradition die. There have been numerous interviews of people at Mardi Gras who don't have anything left at all, and most have said that this is giving them some glimmer of hope that New Orleans will bounce back from this horrible tragedy. (sp ??) And that this will generate over 300 million dollars to the area businesses. I really don't know how I truly feel about it.

[hle_625]

I have never understood really what Mardi Gras was all about. Is it just to celebrate New Orleans or what is the purpose really. The reason I am asking is bc when I went to Cancun they had a bar called Fat Tuesday, well me and my hubby went in there one night and all people were doing was getting very, very, drunk and taking off their shirts for beads! I just dont really get what its celebrating. They were having contests for the girls that whoever got the most beads by showing their breasts got a free trip back to Cancun the next year. So anyways I just never got what the day was about except for showing your boobs!

I dont want anyone to take this offensive I think that its great for a city to have such a tradition, I'm just wanting to figure out the history of it!

[NewYorkieMa&Pa]

I think it is a disgrace and a slap in the face to all those displaced people. There are SO MANY people who are now in other places in the country, with no money, no place to call home and leaving off the very generous charity of others, while people go and party in a place they used to call home?

It distubs me even more that most of these people will never be able to return because they are turning the real estate that used to house low income families into gated communities those people will never, ever be able to afford. To me that is what they are really celebrating.

Someone out there could not wait for this to happen so they could capitalize on it. Instead of paying the people to leave, of course why would they do that?, they let mother nature do the dirty work for them and now most of those families with children in tow who are in some cases are in opposite sides of the country, are permanetly "moved" forever.

Who wants to celebrate that???

[Ladylavender]

Originally Posted by Thorsmomma

I don't think that it is implying the message that everything is okay at all. I think it is more of a celebration that New Orleans is moving on, that they are holding their ground and rebuilding. I think it says' 'we are strong and we are not going to let THIS tradition be stopped' I totally agree with it. It will help bring money into NO and I think it will be a catalyst for another 'wave', if you will, of people to move back.

I totally agree with this! This is the message and the intent of why they are going forward with it this year.

[miezzi]

Here is the meaning of Mardi Gras!


"Mardi Gras" means "Fat Tuesday." Traditionally, it is the last day for Christians to indulge—and often overindulge—before Ash Wednesday starts the sober weeks of fasting that come with Lent Formally known as Shrove Tuesday, Mardi Gras has long been a time of extravagant fun for European Christians!

So people I think are celebrating this as way to look ahead.


Mardi Gras



Mardi Gras (mär´dē grä) , last day before the fasting season of Lent. It is the French name for Shrove Tuesday. Literally translated, the term means "fat Tuesday" and was so called because it represented the last opportunity for merrymaking and excessive indulgence in food and drink before the solemn season of fasting. In the cities of some Roman Catholic countries the custom of holding carnivals for Mardi Gras has continued since the Middle Ages. The carnivals, with spectacular parades, masked balls, mock ceremonials, and street dancing, usually last for a week or more before Mardi Gras itself. Some of the most celebrated are held in New Orleans, Rio de Janeiro, Nice, and Cologne.

[Claire]

Originally Posted by hle_625

I have never understood really what Mardi Gras was all about. Is it just to celebrate New Orleans or what is the purpose really. The reason I am asking is bc when I went to Cancun they had a bar called Fat Tuesday, well me and my hubby went in there one night and all people were doing was getting very, very, drunk and taking off their shirts for beads! I just dont really get what its celebrating. They were having contests for the girls that whoever got the most beads by showing their breasts got a free trip back to Cancun the next year. So anyways I just never got what the day was about except for showing your boobs!

I dont want anyone to take this offensive I think that its great for a city to have such a tradition, I'm just wanting to figure out the history of it!

I have typed and typed and then deleted because I just can't put into words what Mardi Gras is. I know what I have experienced and scene in the 27 years that I have lived here, but I just can't put it into words.
Mardi Gras really is a family affair. It is not the drunken nude craziness that you see on TV. In 27 years I have only experienced that aspect of it once because we wanted to. I was turning 21 and my bestfriend was getting married and we went down to Bourbon Street, just us gals. Bourbon Street is really the only place that you are going to see that kind of stuff. On a normal day you see that stuff on Bourbon street. What do you expect from a street lined with bars and strip clubs???
What Mardi Gras is all about to me is the food, family and the parades! The parades are the best! Family and friends get together on the parade route and barbeque or eat Popeye's Chicken and king cake and have fun and wait for the parades to roll. As a kid we use to get so excited when the parades would start. We would sit on my dad's shoulders, on a ladder or on a chair and yell with all of our might "Throw me something mister". We would always go home with at least 3 trashbags of beads, cups and trinkets and we would use them to have our own parades. We would decorate our bikes and ride them up and down the street throwing beads at invisible people.
I LOVE Mardi Gras and I think that having it this year gave us all a much needed break. It gave us an excuse to be happy and let our hair down. It has been 6 months since Katrina hit, the people of N.O. needed a break! If anything it brings back the media to the town so that they can see that we still do need their help!

[hle_625]

Originally Posted by Claire

I have typed and typed and then deleted because I just can't put into words what Mardi Gras is. I know what I have experienced and scene in the 27 years that I have lived here, but I just can't put it into words.
Mardi Gras really is a family affair. It is not the drunken nude craziness that you see on TV. In 27 years I have only experienced that aspect of it once because we wanted to. I was turning 21 and my bestfriend was getting married and we went down to Bourbon Street, just us gals. Bourbon Street is really the only place that you are going to see that kind of stuff. On a normal day you see that stuff on Bourbon street. What do you expect from a street lined with bars and strip clubs???
What Mardi Gras is all about to me is the food, family and the parades! The parades are the best! Family and friends get together on the parade route and barbeque or eat Popeye's Chicken and king cake and have fun and wait for the parades to roll. As a kid we use to get so excited when the parades would start. We would sit on my dad's shoulders, on a ladder or on a chair and yell with all of our might "Throw me something mister". We would always go home with at least 3 trashbags of beads, cups and trinkets and we would use them to have our own parades. We would decorate our bikes and ride them up and down the street throwing beads at invisible people.
I LOVE Mardi Gras and I think that having it this year gave us all a much needed break. It gave us an excuse to be happy and let our hair down. It has been 6 months since Katrina hit, the people of N.O. needed a break! If anything it brings back the media to the town so that they can see that we still do need their help!

Thank you so much for clearing it up for me! It sounds like it would be really fun! Around here when we think of mardi gras, what we think of is getting drunk and taking your clothes off! I guess thats bc of what we see on tv and such and we have never experienced it! So thank you so much for making it clear in my mind!

[Jenn218]

I heard on the news that "they" considered not having the celebration this year, but they went ahead with it for the people. I think they wanted to have a time where everyone can let go and be relaxed - and of course, bring more money into the area. The news showed a group of men that call themselves the Zulu group (or something like that) and most of them lost everything in the hurricanes, but they were not giving up hope for the celebration. I think that some of the people down there need this right now. NOW, I totally agree that more should have been done and more should be done to help with the recovering of the storms, but I think with this celebration going on, there is hope - a glimpse of what was and what it still is (no matter how devasted it is there).

[reneernc]

Originally Posted by Thorsmomma

I don't think that it is implying the message that everything is okay at all. I think it is more of a celebration that New Orleans is moving on, that they are holding their ground and rebuilding. I think it says' 'we are strong and we are not going to let THIS tradition be stopped' I totally agree with it. It will help bring money into NO and I think it will be a catalyst for another 'wave', if you will, of people to move back.

I agree, I took it as a sign of hope

[MeganS]

I think....they aren't trying to show that they're ok now, but that they aren't going to stop living. They're going to try to continue to live on. Its something thats very important to them, they've gone through SO much, I just don't think they want to give up one of the biggest celebrations of the year. I think they're trying to show that they aren't going to give up, and they're still going strong.
One of my best friends is from New Orleans, so we had our own little Mardi Gras celebration today. It was fun.

[StewiesMom]

Originally Posted by Thorsmomma

I don't think that it is implying the message that everything is okay at all. I think it is more of a celebration that New Orleans is moving on, that they are holding their ground and rebuilding. I think it says' 'we are strong and we are not going to let THIS tradition be stopped' I totally agree with it. It will help bring money into NO and I think it will be a catalyst for another 'wave', if you will, of people to move back.

I agree with you Hannah. Have no more to add!