Terreanian's Royalty 
09/10/2007 02:42 PM
Terreanian's Royalty
2007
The History of Mardi Gras in Louisiana
Louisiana Mardi Gras
Louisiana Mardi Gras has a long, rich history. The first recorded celebration took place when a French nobleman and his crew celebrated Mardi Gras on a small island along the Mississippi River in 1699. The pre-Lenten parties found their way to French-ruled New Orleans in the early 1700’s. When New Orleans fell under Spanish rule in the late 1700’s, the parties were banned.
After the United States acquired New Orleans as part of the 1803 Louisiana Purchase, a movement was started to reinstate the celebration. In 1823, the balls were reinstated and in 1827, masking in the streets of New Orleans became legal. The first recorded “parade” was in 1837 as revelers wore costumes and celebrated in the streets.
In 1857, New Orleans’ first official “Krewe” was formed with the Mistick Krewe of Comus. They were the first organization to stage a themed parade with costumed riders. In the late 1800’s, the Krewe of Rex was formed and created the official colors of Mardi Gras: Purple (for justice), Green (for faith), and Gold (for power). Mardi Gras in New Orleans continued to grow, even through the Depression. However, the merriment was put on hold between 1942 and 1945 with America engaged in World War II.
| History of the "King Cake" |
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The history of the King Cake began in
12th century France where the cake would be baked on the eve of
January 6 to celebrate the visit to the Christ Child by the
three Kings. A small token was hidden in the cake as a surprise
for the finder.
But the origins go back a little further than that and as you would guess, it has something to do with the catholic church. The King's Cake has its roots in pre-Christian religions of Western Europe. It was customary to choose a man to be the "sacred king" of the tribe for a year. That man would be treated like a king for the year, then he would be sacrificed, and his blood returned to the soil to ensure that the harvest would be successful. The method of choosing who would have the honor of being the sacred king was the King's Cake. A coin or bean would be placed in the cake before baking, and whoever got the slice that had the coin was the chosen one. When Christianity extended its influence and began overshadowing the religions that came before it, many of the local customs were not outright abolished, but instead were incorporated into Christian tradition and given a new spin. This even happened to the tradition of Mardi Gras, and from what we have researched so far seems to be the case, but that's another story. Catholic priests were not predisposed to human sacrifice, so the King's Cake was converted into a celebration of the Magi, the three Kings who came to visit the Christ Child. French settlers brought the custom to
Louisiana in the 18th century where it remained associated with
the Epiphany until the 19th century when it became a more
elaborate Mardi Gras custom. In New Orleans, the first cake of
the season was served on January 6. A small ceramic figurine of
a baby was hidden in the cake. Whoever found the baby was
allowed to choose a mock court and host the next King Cake party
the following week (weekly cake parties were held until Mardi
Gras ). In 1870, the Twelfth Night Revelers held their ball,
with a large king cake as the main attraction. Instead of
choosing a sacred king to be sacrificed, the Twelfth Night
Revelers used the bean in the cake to choose the queen of the
ball. This tradition has carried on to this day, although the
Twelfth Night Revelers now use a wooden replica of a large king
cake. The ladies of the court pull open little drawers in the
cake's lower layer which contain the silver and gold beans.
Silver means you're on the court; gold is for the queen.
The classic king cake is oval-shaped, like the pattern of a racetrack. The dough is basic coffee-cake dough, sometimes laced with cinnamon, sometimes just plain. The dough is rolled out into a long tubular shape (not unlike a thin po-boy), then shaped into an oval. The ends are twisted together to complete the shape (HINT: if you want to find the piece with the baby, look for the twist in the oval where the two ends of the dough meet. That's where the baby is usually inserted.) The baby hidden in the cake speaks to the fact that the three Kings had a difficult time finding the Christ Child and of the fine gifts they brought. The cake is then baked, and decorated when it comes out. The classic decoration is simple granulated sugar, colored purple, green, and gold (the colors of Carnival). King cakes have gotten more and more fancy over the years, so now bakeries offer iced versions (where there's classic white coffee cake glaze on the cake), and even king cakes filled with apple, cherry, cream cheese, or other kinds of coffee-cake fillings. |