Laissez les Bons Temps Rouler
Let the good times roll. That’s what it means in Cajun French, and it is closely associated with the celebration of Mardi Gras in New Orleans, Louisiana. A party of all parties, a community coming together in happiness and extravagance, people celebrating their culture. Of course Mardi Gras has its roots in religion with the ultimate Fat Tuesday celebration occurring the day before Lent begins, but that’s not what it is anymore. And it hasn’t been just religion in New Orleans since the 1800s when costumes and parades started rolling down the streets of the bayou. This is truly one of the largest and longest cultural traditions in the US, and I’ve been fortunate enough to be around it multiple times now.
You see, my wife Jordan lived in New Orleans for nearly a decade, and the rest of her immediate family lives in the area, so I’ve spent quite a few days and nights strolling the winding streets of the city. We have been together for nearly seven years at this point but I wasn’t able to make it to Mardi Gras until 2022. That year I left the camera at home, fully immersing myself in the experience. But this year, we came to Mardi Gras again and I knew I had to bring the camera along for at least a few moments of the celebration.
Mardi Gras is synonymous with the season of Carnival which begins all the way back on January 6th: Epiphany. This is the day used to celebrate when the three kings arrived to the baby Jesus after his birth, thus it is also called Kings Day or Three Kings Day (or the Twelfth Day of Christmas for the carolers out there). Since Ash Wednesday (the start of lent) changes every year dependent on the date of Easter, the length of the Carnival season changes as well. The Mardi Gras celebrations begin on Epiphany, but they really begin to ramp up 3 weekends before Fat Tuesday. This is when the large parades begin and local residents begin to avoid driving on weekends if they can.
Enter: The Krewes. Pronounced like “crew”, these organizations are the heart of the Mardi Gras parades with parade organized by a different Krewe. Krewe of Zulu, Krewe of Rex, Krewe of Tucks, Krewe of Bacchus, Krewe of Chewbacchus, Krewe of Barkus, Krewe du Vieux, Krewe of Muses, Krewe of Nyx, how much time do you have? I can keep going. The point is that there are many of them and each has their own parade. Three weeks of parades. People line the streets with tarps, shade tents, coolers, chairs, ladders (for getting a higher position when catching throws), and thousands of their closest friends to celebrate.
No other place in the world celebrates Mardi Gras on such a grand scale as New Orleans does. So if you’re considering traveling for the festivities, don’t think twice. Laissez les Bons Temps Rouler.
Keep an eye out as I have already begun to post my New Orleans Mardi Gras collection of photos on Instagram (@JourneyWithRyan) and right here at journeywithryan.com.
