Mardi Gras 2021

by Cindi Sutter, Founder & Editor Spirited Table® — Content provided by The Editors

Here is the back story for the realities of Mardi Gras during Covid and the history behind Mardi Gras celebrations of the past…No floats to decorate, but many are choosing to decorate their homes.

LEARN THE HISTORY BEHIND THIS TRADITIONAL FEAST DAY-

Mardi Gras, or Fat Tuesday, is celebrated on Tuesday, February 16, 2021. But what exactly is the meaning of Mardi Gras and why do we celebrate? From its origins as a spring fertility rite to the masked balls of medieval Italy to today’s famous Mardi Gras festival in New Orleans, learn about this fun and fascinating holiday.

WHEN IS MARDI GRAS?

Mardi Gras, also called Shrove Tuesday, takes place annually on the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday—the beginning of the Christian observance of Lent, which last about six weeks and ends just before Easter. This means that Mardi Gras is a moveable holiday which can take place in either February or March.

WHAT IS MARDI GRAS?

Mardi Gras is the day before Ash Wednesday, when the Christian season of Lent begins. This day is also called Shrove Tuesday, a name that comes from the practice of “shriving”—purifying oneself through confession—prior to Lent. For many Christians, Shrove Tuesday is a time to receive penance and absolution.

You’ll sometimes hear Mardi Gras referred to as “Carnival.” Technically, this term refers to the period of feasting that begins on January 6 (the Feast of the Epiphany) and ends on Mardi Gras. In cities such as New Orleans (U.S.), Rio Janeiro (Brazil), and Venice (Italy), there are week-long festivals leading up to Mardi Gras.

In 2021, because of the COVID-19, there won’t be any big parades scheduled but, of course, Mardi Gras itself is not cancelled. After all, it existed long before parades!

WHAT DOES MARDI GRAS MEAN?

In French, Mardi Gras means Fat Tuesday. (Mardi is the word for Tuesday and Gras is the word for fat.)

This name comes from the tradition of using up the eggs, milk, and fat in ones pantry because they were forbidden during the 40-day Lenten fast, which begins the next day (Ash Wednesday) and ends on Holy Thursday (three days before Easter Sunday).

NEW REALITY FOR MARDI GRAS CELEBRATIONS

Covid Mardi Gras: Bars closed, Bourbon Street barricaded on Fat Tuesday

Parade float workers Travis Keene, left, and Joey Mercer position a pelican while fellow crew member Chelsea Kamm, right, looks on while decorating a house in New Orleans on Friday, Jan. 8, 2021. All around the city, thousands of houses are being decorated as floats because the coronavirus pandemic has canceled parades that usually take place on Mardi Gras.

AP Photo/Janet McConnaughey

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Coronavirus-related limits on access to Bourbon Street, shuttered bars and frigid weather all were expected to prevent what the city usually craves at the end of Mardi Gras season — streets and businesses jam-packed with revelers.

Parades and parties on Mardi Gras (Fat Tuesday) and the days leading up to the annual pre-Lenten bash usually draw more than a million people to the streets.

But parades were canceled and Mayor LaToya Cantrell recently ordered bars closed. Even bars that had been allowed to operate as restaurants with “conditional” food permits were shuttered for five days that began Friday. Take-out drinks in “go-cups” also are forbidden — no more strolling the French Quarter with a drink in hand.

Bourbon Street was to be blocked to automobile and foot traffic at 7 a.m., with access limited to residents, business managers and employees, hotel guests and restaurant patrons.

Various estimates showed hotels were likely to be anywhere from one-third to more than half full — far below the 90%-plus bookings of most years. And city and state officials all but warned tourists away.

“If people think they’re going to come to Louisiana, anywhere, or New Orleans and engage in the kind of activities they would have pre-pandemic then they are mistaken and quite frankly they are not welcome here to do that,” Gov. John Bel Edwards said at a recent news conference.

Freezing or near-freezing temperatures were in the Tuesday forecast.

If the crowd control measures work, the scene will be in start contrast to Mardi Gras crowds last year that were later blamed for an early Louisiana outbreak of COVID-19.

Parades also were canceled this year in Mobile, Alabama, which boasts the nation’s oldest Mardi Gras celebrations. There was no plan to close bars there, but some streets were to be shut down Tuesday to control traffic and allow for more outdoor seating and service at restaurants and bars.