Mardi Gras in Mobile
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Mardi Gras in Mobile, Alabama is the oldest traditional Carnival celebration in America, having begun in 1703 [1][2][3] over 15 years before New Orleans was founded (1718).[3] From Mobile being the first capital of French Louisiana (1702), the festival began as a French Catholic tradition, celebrating until the start of Lent on Ash Wednesday, until midnight on Mardi Gras day (French for "Fat Tuesday" or Shrove Tuesday); however, Mardi Gras in Mobile has evolved into a mainstream multi-week celebration across the spectrum of cultures in Mobile, becoming school holidays[4] for the final Monday and Tuesday (some include Wednesday),[5] regardless of religious affiliation. Although Mobile has traditions of exclusive societies, with formal masked balls and elegant costumes, the celebration has evolved over the past 3 centuries to become typified by public parades where members of societies, often masked, on floats or horseback [6] [7] toss gifts to the general public, as throws, including plastic beads, doubloon coins,[6] decorated plastic cups, candy,[6] wrapped cakes/snacks,[6] stuffed animals,[7] and small toys,[7] footballs, frisbees, or whistles.[7]
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Mobile's parades and outdoor events include family-oriented activities, silly fun, and revelry,[6] rather than baudiness (see below: Comparison with New Orleans). The masked balls or dances, some with tuxedos and gowns, are oriented to adults, with some mystic societies treating the balls as an extension of the debutante season of their exclusive social circles. Various nightclubs and local bars offer their own particular events.
Beyond the public parades, Mardi Gras in Mobile involves many various mystic societies, some having begun in 1704, or ending with the Civil War, while new societies were formed every century. Some mystic societies are never seen in public parades, but rather hold invitation-only events for their secret members.
[edit] Overview of events
The Mobile Mardi Gras season starts in November[8][9][10] with exclusive parties held by some secret mystic societies, then New Year's Eve balls, while other groups wait until Twelfth Night (January 6), with parades, balls (some of them masquerade balls), and king cake parties.
From about two weeks before, through Fat Tuesday, there is at least one major parade each day.[9] The largest and most elaborate parades take place the last few days of the season. In the final week of Mardi Gras, many events large and small occur throughout Mobile and the surrounding communities (see event schedule[6]).
The parades in Mobile are organized mainly by Carnival krewes or orders. Krewe float riders toss throws to the crowds. The most common throws are strings of colorful plastic beads,[6] doubloons (aluminium or wooden dollar-sized coins usually impressed with a krewe logo),[6] wrapped candy/snacks/MoonPies,[6][7] decorated plastic throw cups, stuffed animals,[7] and other small inexpensive toys.[7] Major krewes follow the same parade schedule and route, which has evolved over the years.
To Mobilians, "Mardi Gras" refers to the entire festival season, [11] and schools have multiple "Mardi Gras Holidays" [4](which can include Ash Wednesday),[5] with the final Tuesday called "Fat Tuesday" or "Mardi Gras Day" [6] rather than the French meaning of Mardi as just Tuesday. Mobile's culture has become very diverse, no longer limiting "Mardi" to Tuesday, as in the French Catholic tradition. While there are still strong French influences, the effects of Spanish, British and U.S. rule can also be seen in the area's Mardi Gras traditions.
[edit] History
A type of Mardi Gras festival was brought to Mobile in French Louisiana by the founding French settlers. The first record of the holiday being marked in America is on March 3, 1699,[12] at a camp site along the Mississippi River delta, but after the construction of Fort Louis de la Mobile (1700–1702), Mardi Gras began being celebrated in Mobile in 1703, annually, depending on wars in the region.[3][6]
Mardi Gras has evolved over centuries in the Mobile area, combining tradition and culture with new ideas. French Mardi Gras arrived in North America with the founding French settlers, the Le Moyne brothers,[3] Pierre Le Moyne d'Iberville and Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville: in the late 17th century, King Louis XIV sent the pair to defend France's claim on the territory of La Louisiane, which included what are now the U.S. states of Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana.[13]
The two explorers, coming through Dauphin Island (Alabama), navigated the mouth of the Mississippi River (charted by Cavelier de La Salle, 1682), sailed upstream, and on March 3, 1699, celebrated, naming the spot Pointe du Mardi Gras (French: "Mardi Gras Point")[12] 60 miles downriver from the wilderness that would become New Orleans 20 years later.[3] Meanwhile, between 1700–1702, the 21-year-old Bienville founded the settlement of Mobile (Alabama), as the first capital of French Louisiana, [14] and in 1703, the American Mardi Gras tradition began with French annual celebrations in Mobile.[2][3] [15][16] The feasting and revelry on Shrove Tuesday in Mobile was called Boeuf Gras (Fatted Ox).[6] The masked ball, Masque de la Mobile, began in 1704,[3] and the first known parade was in 1711,[3] when Mobile's "Boeuf Gras Society" ("fat beef society") paraded with 16 men pushing a cart carrying a large papier-mâché cow's head on Shrove Tuesday.[2]
By 1720, Biloxi became the 2nd capital of Louisiana, adopting the French customs there.[3]
In 1723, the capital of Louisiana was moved, due to fear of tides and hurricanes, to an inland harbor town founded 1718[14] called "Nouvelle-Orléans" (New Orleans),[3] and the tradition, which had started 20 years earlier in Mobile, was extended. However, records have been lost, so there is no direct evidence (yet) of New Orleans Mardi Gras celebrations in the 1720s/1730s.
In 1763, Mobile came under British control, and the racial segregation caused many Creoles to leave Mobile and move west towards New Orleans. Then, in 1780, Mobile came under Spanish control, and the Carnival celebration was marked by the Spanish custom of torch-lit parades[2] on Twelfth Night, January 6. In 1813, Mobile finally became an American city, but only as part of the Mississippi Territory, then in 1817, part of the Alabama Territory.
About 11 years after Alabama became a state (1819), a group of hell-raisers, led by Michael Krafft, who stayed awake all New Year's Eve, started a dawn parade on January 1, 1831, making noise with cowbells, hoes, and rakes.[3] [17] The group became the first parading mystic society (or "krewe"), using the French-parodied name of the Cowbellion de Rakin Society, with annual parades each New Year's Eve.[2][3]
Nearly 125 years after Mobile's first parade of 1711,[3] the new krewe from Mobile, the Cowbellion de Rakin Society (1830), took their parade into New Orleans, circa 1835,[3] where in 1838, New Orleans adopted the "European custom of celebrating the last day of the Carnival by a procession of masqued figures through the streets."[13]
In 1843, some men who had been refused membership by the Cowbellions, formed the Mobile "Strikers Independent Society" with their own New Year's parade. However, other men from Mobile formed the New Orleans Cowbellions in 1850,[3] and in 1857, that Cowbellion society, renamed as the Mistick Krewe of Comus, finally held its first parade on Mardi Gras day in New Orleans.[13] The Boeuf Gras Society (1711–1861) held their last procession on Shrove Tuesday in 1861, before the American Civil War, and then disappeared.[2][18]
In 1866, after the Civil War, Joe Cain revived the parades in Mobile on Mardi Gras day,[3][1] riding in a decorated charcoal wagon, along with six fellow veterans:[2] that event is remembered with an annual Joe Cain Day (from 1966),[1] celebrated with a parade, on the Sunday before Ash Wednesday.
War, economic, political, and weather conditions sometimes led to cancellation of some or all major parades, especially during the Civil War and World War II, but celebration of Mardi Gras has always been observed in the city to some extent.
Today, many krewes (or "mystic societies" as they are more commonly known in Mobile) operate under a business structure; membership is basically open to anyone who pays dues to have a place on a parade float. In contrast, the traditional krewes maintain secret membership lists and even divulging your membership in one is grounds for dismissal. Some of the newer krewes actively recruit prospective members. Some of the older krewes have membership waiting lists numbering in the hundreds, perhaps restricting membership only to alumni of particular schools.
The oldest parading society in Mobile is the Order of Myths, founded in 1868.[1] Its Emblem consists of Folly chasing Death around the broken pillar of life, a symbol of Mardi Gras in Mobile. Other notable krewes include the Infant Mystics, the Mystics of Time, the Crewe of Columbus, Mystic Stripers, Order of Inca and Conde Cavaliers. Ladies' Societies include the Polka Dots and Maids of Mirth. Each of these societies have contributed something to the fabric of Mobile's Mardi Gras tradition.
[edit] Traditional colors
| Meaning of Colors | |
|---|---|
| Justice (purple) | |
| Faith (green) | |
| Power (gold) | |
The traditional colors of Mardi Gras in Mobile are purple and gold, although most people (even Mobilians) seem to follow New Orleans' traditional colors of purple, green, and gold, from the Russian House of Romanov in 1872, when Grand Duke Alexis Romanoff Alexandrovitch, brother of the heir apparent to the throne of Russia, had accepted New Orlean's invitation to attend Mardi Gras, with festivities in his honor.[13] Twenty years later, in 1892, the New Orleans Rex Parade theme "Symbolism of Colors" gave the colors their meanings.[13] The colors in turn influenced the official colors of Louisiana State University (purple and gold) and Tulane University (blue and green).[13] According to lore, fans of Louisiana State University, prior to a match against Tulane in New Orleans, sought a color to purchase while in the City. As purple, green and gold were prominent in the city, the LSU fans bought purple and gold as it wasn't green and would later adopt the colors as their official colors. Before and during Mardi Gras, purple, green, and gold fabric is certainly abundant.
[edit] After Hurricane Katrina
The negative publicity from the effect of Hurricane Katrina on New Orleans in late 2005, caused many to celebrate instead in Mobile, which ironically had been flooded much faster and deeper by Hurricane Katrina than the New Orleans parade route along Canal Street. Although the French Quarter and New Orlean's central core of high-rise buildings did not flood much, [19] downtown Mobile was flooded several feet deep, submerging cars. [20]
The powerful waves, which flooded into downtown Mobile, tilted the Battleship USS Alabama (BB-60) to the side,[21] although the ship had been moored on the bottom of Mobile Bay (see ground-level photo at side).[21]
It was not a flood of leaking water, but rather an intense rapid storm surge that hit Mobile and pushed several feet of bay water (not city sewage) into the downtown parade routes. However, the national news media did not bemoan and dwell over the more severe damage in downtown Mobile, so Mobile simply cleared around the flooded downtown buildings, boarded up missing skyscraper windows, and had the largest Mardi Gras celebration in Mobile history.[20]
The recent 2007 Mardi Gras season in Mobile was attended by nearly 0.9 million people, [22] with police estimating the overall attendance at 878,000[22] and a crowd of 105,600 along the streets for the final Fat Tuesday finale.[22]
[edit] Contemporary Mardi Gras
Each year, the Mardi Gras (or Carnival) season starts with 3 events, the November parties of the International Carnival Ball and the Camellia Ball,[9] then New Year's Eve and then January 6, also known as "Twelfth Night" or the Feast of the Epiphany. In Mobile, the parade season starts off some three weekends before Mardi Gras day with the Conde Cavaliers parade.
There is usually at least one parade every night starting two Fridays before Mardi Gras. The lone exception on the schedule is the Wednesday before Mardi Gras, which is reserved as a "rain out" day in case one or more of the earlier parades are affected by weather.
[edit] The weekend before Mardi Gras
There are multiple parades leading up to Mardi Gras day. On Sunday (before Ash Wednesday), the Joe Cain Day celebrations are held, which has included a joggers run and the Joe Cain Parade, also known as the "People's Parade" because joining the parade does not require exclusive membership in a mystic society.
[edit] Lundi Gras
Monday is known as "Lundi Gras" ("Fat Monday"). In Mobile, Lundi Gras is traditionally a family day. Schools are closed both Lundi and Mardi Gras. At noon, the Mobile Carnival Association's Floral Parade is held, with area parochial and public schools providing floats and young riders. The Optimist Club hosts a family oriented midway near Fort Conde, complete with carnival rides, food, games and activities. Lundi Gras is also a day to King Cake parties and other family get-togethers in Mobile.
As a tradition, after other parades, the mystic society of the Infant Mystics has held their parade, each year, on this Monday night in downtown Mobile, after 6pm.
As an example of the recurring annual events, the Lundi Gras event schedule of Mardi Gras 2007 is shown below:
- Events on Monday, February 19 (2007): [23]
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- 12:00n - Arrival of King Felix III (at the foot of Government Street);
- 3:00 pm - MLK Business and Civic Organization Parade (rolls on parade Route D);
- 3:30 pm - Monday Mystics Parade (rolls on parade Route D);
- 4:00 pm - Northside Merchants Parade (rolls on parade Route D);
- 6:30 pm - Infant Mystics Parade (on Route A).[23]
The Monday parade schedule has been similar, the past few years, with times varying by perhaps 15 minutes.
[edit] Mardi Gras Day
Celebrations begin early on Mardi Gras day. Downtown, the long parade organized by the Order of Athena rolls first, followed by the Comic Cowboys dressed in cowboy jeans or street clothes on floats that display billboards with humorous jokes or caricatures. The evening ends with a spectacular night parade of illuminated, magical, mythical floats decorated to a theme chosen by the Order of Myths. Each parade follows a pre-defined route (such as Route A, B, C or D) so that viewers can plan their attendance along the streets or balconies. Some parades are so long and circular that it is possible to walk to a second viewing spot and view the parades, and catch more throws, as the floats circle back. A high school band that wasn't playing on the first round, might be playing music on the second viewing.
The Fat Tuesday event schedule for Mardi Gras 2007 is as follows:
- Events on Tuesday, February 20 (2007): [23]
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- FAT TUESDAY! (always the day before Ash Wednesday)
- 10:30 am Order of Athena Parade
- 12:30 pm Knights of Revelry Parade
- 1:00 pm King Felix Parade (king of Mobile festival)
- 1:30 pm Comic Cowboys Parade
- 3:00 pm Mobile Area Mardi Gras Association (rolls on parade Route B)
- 6:30 pm Order of Myths Parade (rolls on parade Route C)
Numerous smaller parades and walking clubs also parade around the city.
[edit] The end of each Mardi Gras
Promptly at the stroke of midnight at the end of Fat Tuesday, all festivities related to Mardi Gras cease, as it is the start of Lent, rather than being treated as a party-til-dawn atmosphere.
Since Mardi Gras is observed by many Mobilians who are not Roman Catholic, many non-Catholics also follow the customs of Lent after Mardi Gras, giving up certain pleasures such as chocolate or liquor. It is also considered inappropriate and disrespectful to wear Mardi Gras beads during Lent.
As the festivities end, overnight clean-up crews sweep the streets of Mobile and remove portable trash cans. Businesses along the parade route have inserted temporary storm shutters and wooden panels covering windows, to protect people from potential breaking glass or sidewalk ledges. The whole clean-up is coordinated overall so that, even before dawn, the streets are clean and ready for the workday early Wednesday morning.
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[edit] Costumes and masks
Costumes and masks are seldom publicly worn by non-Krewe members on the days before Fat Tuesday (other than at parties), but are sometimes worn on Mardi Gras Day. Most people simply dress to be attractive, enjoying the open air and the chance to socialize with other people.
Krewe members wear elaborate costumes that reflect the theme of their parade, ball or float. Costumes include custom made hats or feather headdresses, though some krewes do not require this. Most of the traditional krewes require riders to wear a mask that is sufficient enough to conceal the riders identity. Excessive cutting of the mask or removing the mask at anytime during the parade is grounds for dismissal from some societies, and some enforce the wearing of masks during the society's ball (typically held the same night, immediately following the parade).
[edit] Commercialization
There is very little commercial advertising during the Mobile parades, and the result is an escape from the ordinary day-to-day world. The various floats in a parade are typically free artistic creations, although some krewes have entertained the idea of corporate sponsors.
The lack of advertising is not accidental: in 1935, Mobile Ordinance 1212 forbid any tag-along advertising by vehicles or display floats at a "closer distance than three blocks from the rear of the parade." [3]
[edit] Floats
The design, construction and decoration of Mardi Gras floats is a year-round business in Mobile. Several companies along the Gulf Coast do no other work than building floats. The larger floats in Mobile's parades are designed to hold about 15 or 16 adult men and their throws. City regulations stipulate length, width and height of floats, and do so to ensure that the floats can safely navigate the narrow streets and tight turns of Downtown Mobile. The floats are typically multi-level, with a lower level, an upper level, and one or two mezzanine stations (typically near the back of the float). The Float "captain" typically rides on the upper level, which lets him or her see everyone on the float. For floats that will be in night-time parades, the structures are wired for lighting, and a portable generator is towed behind the float to provide power. Each float also contains some type of portable restroom facilities. Although from the street, a Mardi Gras float might look like a dainty, flimsy contraption, the reality is that they are quite sturdily built and are capable of withstanding a good rocking by the riders.
Some of Mobile's most famous floats include:
- Order of Myths Emblem: Folly chasing Death around the broken pillar of life (see image).
- Knights of Revelry Emblem: Folly dancing in the goblet of life.
- Infant Mystics Emblem: A Black Cat atop a cotton bale (the pillar of Mobile's antebellum wealth)
- Mystics of Time's Vernadean, Verna & Dean: Giant, rolling fire and smoke breathing dragon floats!
- Crewe of Columbus' Nina, Pinta and Santa Maria: Three floats built to resemble Columbus' famed ships.
- Order of Inca Messengers and Sun Worshippers: Some of Mobile's largest moving structures. Awesome costumes complete the effect.
- Conde Cavaliers Emblem: Swashbuckler points his sword right at Mobile!
[edit] The throws
For many of the Mardi Gras parades in Mobile, members of societies on floats toss gifts to the general public, as so-called throws, including plastic beads, doubloon coins, decorated plastic cups, candy, wrapped cakes/snacks, stuffed animals, and small toys, footballs, frisbees, or whistles.
Mardi Gras throws have themselves evolved over the years. As little as 20 years ago, the beads thrown by Mobile maskers were small, cheap plastic pieces, and few maskers gave much thought to them. Today, the beads can be the most expensive items on a masker's throw list. At some point in Mobile's Mardi Gras history, a masker got the novel idea that along with throwing candy and bagged peanuts, he'd also throw Moon Pies. Moon pies have since become a staple of Mardi Gras in Mobile. Other items that have come and gone through Mobile's Mardi Gras history include Cracker Jack, Confetti, Serpentine, and unbagged candy. Maskers throwing candy today typically throw whole bags of bubble gum, kisses and other sweet treats. A recent fad, attributed to members of the Order of Inca, has been throwing Ramen Noodle packs to crowds. The noodle packs are easy to throw, and cost about the same or less than Moon Pies.
[edit] Beads
Inexpensive strings of beads have been thrown from floats to parade-goers since at least the late 19th century. Until the 1960s, the most common forms were custom-colored necklaces of smaller glass beads made in Czechoslovakia. These were replaced by inexpensive, durable, standardized plastic beads, first from Hong Kong, then from Taiwan, and more recently from China. Lower-cost beads allow riders to purchase greater quantities, hence throws have become more numerous and common. However, the mass-produced items have limited variety, and many bead necklaces are of one single color, bagged in bulk from the factory. This might lead to multiple necklaces of the same color being thrown at the same time, rather than a multi-color variety.
In the 1990s, many people lost interest in small, common beads, often leaving them where they had landed on the ground. Larger, more elaborate, multi-colored bead necklaces and strands with figures of animals, people, or other objects have become the sought-after throws. Nevertheless, citing the increasing cost of throws, maskers continue to buy and throw the smaller diameter beads to the masses and save the more expensive, elaborate creations for friends along the route.
[edit] Doubloons
One of the many Mardi Gras throws, doubloons are large coins, either plastic or metal, that are usually colored in the Mardi Gras colors, and are tossed into the crowd by the various krewes. These coins portray the krewe's emblem, name, and founding date on one side, and the theme and year of the parade and ball on the other side.
The doubloons thrown during the parade are inexpensive, stamped anodized aluminum. However, a thriving cottage industry has developed for the collection of limited edition doubloons. As a means of fundraising, many societies now offer limited edition doubloons struck from bronze, silver, gold and platinum. Other offerings include cloisone and hand-painted varieties. Rather than being stamped, these pieces are struck (like legal tender coins), and bear the trademark mint luster of a large coin.
[edit] Plastic cups
In recent years, plastic cups have been thrown. The Order of Inca was the first krewe to throw plastic cups emblazoned with the krewes emblem and the theme of the parade and ball. Now, every mystic krewe in the city throws themed cups. Also thrown are generic mardi gras cups, often with the dates of future mardi gras seasons printed on them.
[edit] Snacks
The snacks are typically wrapped, individual portions of food, such as a brownie cookie, snack cake, bag of peanuts, or a Moon Pie, a chocolate, banana, or orange frosted marshmallow cake. The tossed snacks have also included various bags of pork rinds crackers. Other snacks include Ramen Noodles (a recent trend), dried fruits and whole bags of candy and gum.
[edit] Toys/frisbees/footballs
A large variety of soft plastic toys have become throws, such as hollow plastic water pistols, or ribbed tube-straw whistles. The plastic toy Frisbees are typically small-sized frisbees, with the round disc less than 8 inches (41 cm) in diameter. Small footballs of soft plastic, or foam rubber, have been thrown from floats, often aimed to spin when thrown like a full-sized football. Many of these are emblazoned with the Society's emblem, or at least initials, much like the plasic cups.
[edit] Prohibited throws
A number of objects are prohibited as parade throws in Mobile, based on safety or sexual restrictions, as defined in Section 49 of the Mobile City Code (from 10 February 2004): [24]
- "It shall be unlawful for any person to throw the following items from Mardi Gras floats or during Mardi Gras parades: Rubber balls, hard balls such as baseballs, wooden handled objects, condoms or similar items, dolls of any construction with explicit sexual organs, candy apples, ice cream or food products requiring freezing or refrigeration, any food stuff in cans, whole boxes of any food, trinkets, etc. All Moon Pies, trinkets and other throws shall be thrown individually or in small numbers." [24]
All boxes are prohibited as throws (also since February 2004),[24] including "crushed or empty" boxes.[24]
[edit] Other Mardi Gras traditions
[edit] The King cake
The first week of January starts the King Cake season. The traditional King Cake is a coffee cake, and is oblong and braided. The cake is iced with a simple icing and covered with purple, green and gold sugar. Each cake contains a hidden one-inch baby doll, and custom tells that whoever finds the doll must either buy the next King Cake or throw the next King Cake party. Hundreds of King Cake parties are thrown every year, and hundreds of thousands of cakes are made, bought and eaten every year.
King Cakes are sold in grocery stores all around Mobile, and even at any regional WAL-MART bakery. The various King Cakes range in size, such as 16 oz (454g), 25, 28 or 29-oz (823g) sizes, with prices of US$4–$10 or more for special recipes.[25]
[edit] Flambeaux carriers
The flambeaux ("flahm-bo" for flame-torch) was originally a carrier that served as a beacon for parade-goers to better enjoy the spectacle of night festivities. In Mobile, night parades were formerly cross-lit by torches topped by noxious signal flares (as might be placed in the street at a night traffic wreck).
Those burning flares were replaced with generator-powered electric lights in Mobile by the end of the 20th century, but some flame torches are still used, such as during the Order of Myths parade (at night on the final Tuesday).
[edit] Mardi Gras icons
Several common images or phrases appear during the Mardi Gras season in Mobile:
- official Mardi Gras flags: flags with a special emblem in Mardi Gras colors;
- signs or items using traditional colors: purple, green, and gold;
- the faces of Comedy and Tragedy: the smiling and frowning theater faces;
- feathered masks: with fluffy feathers attached at the edges;
- Fleur de Lis: the French symbol from the time Mobile was the capital of the French colony;
- "Let the good times roll!" (French: Laissez Les Bons Temps Rouler!);
- "Throw me something, Mister!":[6] a stereotypical phrase shouted by a parade viewer.
- the Moon Pie Chant, heard along the parade routes as crowds chant "Moon Pie! Moon Pie!" [6]
[edit] Mystic societies
A type of mystic society began in Mobile in 1704, with the Societé de Saint Louise founded by French soldiers at Fort St. Louis de la Mobile.[3] The annual Masque de la Mobile was started in the same year.[3] In 1830, a group celebrating with an early morning parade, later became the Cowbellion de Rakin Society as the first parade krewe,[1] with annual parades organized every year, rather than just spontaneous processions, as had been the custom for many years. The Cowbellions dissolved in 1912, but re-formed in 1991.[1]
Dozens of mystic societies have come and gone over the past 3 centuries in Mobile. Membership has been formed by various groups as either co-workers, bachelors, women, blacks, black women, Jews, married women, married couples, or open membership, including visitors.[1]
There are more than 40 mystic societies in Mobile,[1] and because many are run as secret societies, their impact on Mobile politics, business affairs, and Carnival activities is difficult to determine. An objective list of current notable mystic societies can seen by their parade and event schedules, described below (see: Recent mystic parades and events).
[edit] Development of mystic societies
Carnival celebrations in Mobile, of which Mardi Gras Day is the final day, begin in November[26] and end promptly at the stroke of midnight of Mardi Gras Day, with the beginning of Lent.[2] Society balls are held throughout the season, first in November, next on New Year's Eve.[10] Mobile's mystic societies build colorful Carnival floats and parade throughout downtown during the Mardi Gras season, with masked society members tossing small gifts, known as throws, to the parade spectators.[27]
Mobile first celebrated Carnival in 1703 when French settlers began the festivities at the Old Mobile Site.[3] A form of mystic society began in Mobile in 1704, with the Societé de Saint Louise, founded by French soldiers at Fort St. Louis de la Mobile,[3] and later became another Mobile Carnival society in 1711 as the Boeuf Gras Society (Fatted Ox Society, 1711–1861).[28] Mobile's Cowbellion de Rakin Society was the first formally organized and masked mystic society in the United States to celebrate with a parade, in 1830:[1][2] the Cowbellions got their start when a cotton broker from Pennsylvania, Michael Krafft, began a parade with rakes, hoes, and cowbells.[2] The Cowbellions introduced horse-drawn floats to the parades in 1840 with a parade titled Heathen Gods and Goddesses.[28] The Strikers Independent Society was formed in 1843 and is the oldest remaining mystic society in the United States.[28]
Carnival celebrations in Mobile were cancelled during the American Civil War; however, Mardi Gras parades were revived by Joe Cain in 1866 when he paraded through the streets in a wagon on Fat Tuesday, while costumed as a fictional Chickasaw chief named Slacabamorinico, irreverently celebrating the day in front of the occupying Union Army troops.[29] The Order of Myths, Mobile's oldest mystic society which continues to parade, was founded in 1867 and held its first parade on Mardi Gras night in 1868.[28] The Infant Mystics also began to parade on Mardi Gras night in 1868, but later moved their parade to Lundi Gras (Fat Monday).[28] The Mobile De Leon Carnival Association was formed in 1871 to coordinate the events of Mardi Gras, so in 1872 the first Royal Court was held with the first king of Carnival, Emperor Felix I.[28][8] The Comic Cowboys of Wragg Swamp were established in 1884, along with their mission of satire and free expression.[28] The Continental Mystic Crew mystic society was founded in 1890, it was Mobile's first Jewish mystic society.[1] The Order of Doves mystic society was founded in 1894 and held its first Mardi Gras ball. It was the first organized African American mystic society in Mobile.[1]
The Infant Mystics (1868), the second oldest society that continues to parade, introduced the first electric floats to Mobile in 1929.[28] The Mobile Colored Carnival Association was founded and had its first parade in 1939 (later renamed the Mobile Area Mardi Gras Association),[15][1] then installed the first African American Mardi Gras court in 1940, with the coronation of King Elexis I and his queen.[30] The Conde Cavaliers were founded in 1977 (parade 1978), and hold the first parade of the season, since parades stopped on New Year's Eve.[1] The Order of Osiris, the first gay and lesbian mystic society in Mobile, held its first ball in 1980.[28] The Mobile International Carnival Ball was first held in 1993[15] with every known Mobile mystic society in attendance.[8] The year 2002 saw Mobile's Tricentennial celebrated with parades that represented all of Mobile's mystic societies.[28]
[edit] Recent mystic parades and events
The schedule of mystic parades and events, included below, reveals some aspects of the notability of various krewes within the Mobile Carnival season.
2007 Mardi Gras schedule: [23]
- Friday, February 2
-
- 6:30 pm - Conde Cavaliers Parade (mystic society from 1977).
- Saturday, February 3
-
- 6:30 pm - Pharaoh's Mystic Society Parade
- 7:00 pm - Conde Explorers Parade
- Thursday, February 8
-
- 6:15 pm - Order of the Polka Dots Parade
- Friday, February 9
-
- 6:30 pm - Order of Inca Parade
- Saturday, February 10
-
- 2:00 pm - Mobile Mystics Parade
- 6:30 pm - Maids of Mirth Parade
- 6:30 pm - Order of Butterfly Maidens Parade
- 7:00 pm - Mobile Married Mystics Parade
- Sunday, February 11
-
- 6:30 pm - Neptune's Daughters Parade
- Monday, February 12
-
- 6:30 pm - Krewe of Marry Mates Parade
- 7:00 pm - Mystical Ladies Parade
- Tuesday, February 13
-
- 6:30 pm - Order of LaShe Parade
- 7:00 pm - Order of Venus Parade
- Thursday, February 15
-
- 6:30 pm - Mystic Striper Parade
- Friday, February 16
-
- 6:30 pm - Crewe of Columbus Parade (formerly spelled "Krewe of Columbus")
- Saturday, February 17
-
- 12:00n - Floral Parade
- 12:45 pm - Knights of Mobile Parade
- 1:00 pm - Order of Angels Parade
- 6:00 pm - Mystics of Time Parade
- 6:30 pm - Coronation of King Felix III and Queen (Mobile Convention Center)
- Sunday, February 18 (Joe Cain Day)
-
- 2:00 pm - Arrival of King Elexis I (from black mystic societies)
- 2:30 pm - Joe Cain Parade (not a krewe, but the "People's Parade")
- 5:00 pm - Le Krewe de Bienville Parade (open to reservations of visitors)
- 5:30 pm - Les Femmes Cassettes Parade
- 8:15 pm - Coronation of King Elexis I and Queen (Expo Hall)
- Monday, February 19
-
- 12:00n - Arrival of King Felix III (name of Mobile's carnival king)
- 3:00 pm - MLK Business and Civic Organization Parade (rolls on Route D)
- 3:30 pm - Monday Mystics Parade (rolls on Route D)
- 4:00 pm - Northside Merchants Parade (rolls on Route D)
- 6:30 pm - Infant Mystics Parade
- Tuesday, February 20
-
- (Mardi Gras Day or Fat Tuesday, always the day before Ash Wednesday)
- 10:30 am - Order of Athena Parade
- 12:30 pm - Knights of Revelry Parade
- 1:00 pm - King Felix Parade
- 1:30 pm - Comic Cowboys Parade
- 3:00 pm - Mobile Area Mardi Gras Association (rolls on Route B)
- 6:30 pm - Order of Myths Parade (rolls on Route C).[23]
So, the final parade is held by the Order of Myths (OOM), Mobile's oldest Tuesday-parade mystic society (founded in 1867).[1]
[edit] Legal restrictions
Over the past centuries, laws have been established in Mobile to limit certain types of behavior during the Carnival season. Laws in Mobile have regulated activities based on race, immorality, noise, face masks, gloves, parading, fireworks, and objects thrown.[1] In 1826, people of color were required to obtain licenses for assemblies or dances;[1] in 1845, balls were banned at homes of free blacks or slaves (but not Creoles);[1] and in 1866, laws restricted noise or any party where "immoral or disorderly persons" might gather: [1]
- 1826: According to Section 7 of City of Mobile Ordinance 4 titled "An Ordinance to establish a City Watch and to regulate the duties of Watchmen," no ball, dance, or assembly of people of color would be permitted within the City unless they first obtain a license from the Mayor or the Alderman, with no license granted passed 1 a.m. in the morning;[1]
- 1845: A Mobile city Ordinance prohibits free blacks or slaves from holding balls at their place of residence; the restriction does not include the Creoles in Mobile, who hold a distinct status in American society as written in the 1803 Treaty of Paris (Louisiana Purchase), with Thomas Jefferson;[1] Alabama had become a state in 1819, giving American protection to citizens after Mobile had been a colony of Spain, 1780–1812.
Until 1957, masks were largely restricted after 1902, when masks were limited to mystic societies or children under 12;[1] in 1918, public masking was forbidden in Mobile during World War I (repealed in 1920);[1] by 1947, masks were limited to mystic societies only, plus a masked individual was forbidden to "wear gloves or have his hands concealed" or covered;[1] and after 1957, general public masks were allowed, but only on Mardi Gras day from 9am - 9pm, or by mystic societies.[1]
Fireworks were the issue by 1987, becoming unlawful to "sell, purchase, or use fireworks of any type in or on the public streets of the City of Mobile during the time observed as Mardi Gras." [1]
City ordinances[11] for parades prohibit pets, skateboards, motorized scooters,[11] and also prohibit throwing any object into a parade, in the direction of floats, band members, or parade participants.[11] Pistol permits do not allow possession of firearms at parades,[11] and crossing roadside barricades carries a fine of US$172 (2007).[11]
In the last decade of the 20th century, commercial videotapes catering to voyeurs helped encourage a tradition of baring breasts in exchange for beads and trinkets. Many non-residents now associate this activity more than any other with Mardi Gras in New Orleans. It has not typically been part of Mobile Mardi Gras.
While many visiting tourists might think of Mardi Gras as an "adult" holiday (based mainly on New Orleans' adult-oriented celebrations), for Mobile residents it is a time of family traditions; indeed, many view the parades mainly as sources of enjoyment for children. Many families with very young children gather along the parade routes in downtown. In these areas, nudity, public drunkenness and other bad behavior is discouraged and could lead to quick arrest. Uniformed and plainclothes officers patrol behind the crowds.[11]
[edit] Comparison with New Orleans
Due to the complex web of events in the 300-year history of Mardi Gras in Mobile, it is not easy to compare activities with New Orleans, which includes celebrations of the many communities within the Greater New Orleans area. Both regions schedule dozens of parades and have masked balls oriented towards adults, with alcoholic beverages. However, Mobile has almost no nudity or exposure, in the style found on Bourbon Street in New Orleans; however, public alcoholic drinks are allowed in some areas of Mobile. Plus, many activities in the New Orleans Mardi Gras are described as "family-oriented" and somewhat similar to activities in Mobile.
The histories of Mobile (founded 1702)[3] and New Orleans (founded 1718)[3] are broadly interconnected, with both having been the capital of French Louisiana in the early 1700s (with wooden/stucco buildings), and later, both under control of Spain (with the Spanish courtyards and wrought-iron balconies). Although Mobile's annual parades began with a Tuesday procession in 1711,[3] or Twelfth Night parades, the scheduled mystic-society parades were developed 120 years later and held for New Year's Eve,[13][3][1] while New Orleans developed a traditional Tuesday public procession on Mardi Gras day. A cross-mix occurred when Mobile's Cowbellions instigated scheduled Tuesday parades in New Orleans, which led Joe Cain having paraded in New Orleans in 1865, to start a recurring Mardi Gras Tuesday parade in Mobile, beginning in 1866.[3][1] The influence of Joe Cain led to an annual Joe Cain Day (from 1966) in Mobile,[1] celebrated with a parade, on the Sunday before Ash Wednesday, but not in New Orleans, which has other traditions.
[edit] Short glossary
The Mobile Mardi Gras season uses several terms which have specific meanings for the events:
- Carnival: the entire festival (term used in Spanish period of Mobile, 1780–1812);
- Lundi Gras: ("Fat Monday") the Monday before Lent;
- Mardi Gras: ("Fat Tuesday") the general festival, or the Tuesday before Lent;
- King Felix III: the contemporary king of the Mobile Mardi Gras;
- mystic society: secret society formed for any annual Carnival events;
- parade krewe: a society that has annual, organized parades;
- tableau: a pageant event;
- throw: any gift thrown from a float to the spectators.
[edit] See also
[edit] Notes
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab "Carnival/Mobile Mardi Gras Timeline" (list of events by year), Museum of Mobile, 2001, webpage: MoM-timeline.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k "Mardi Gras - Mobile's Paradoxical Party". "The Wisdom of Chief Slacabamorinico". Retrieved on 2007-11-18.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z "New Orleans & Mardi Gras History Timeline" (event list), Mardi Gras Digest, 2005, webpage: MG-time.
- ^ a b "Calendar" for McGill-Toolen Catholic High School (week of 3-Feb-2008), Mobile Archdiocese, November 2007, webpage: [1].
- ^ a b "Westlawn Elementary - All Events for February/2008" (calendar), Westlawn Elementary, Mobile, AL, 2007, webpage: Westlawn-calendar: events in February 2008; also check 2007 ("iYear=2007").
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n "Mardi Gras" (description), Mobile Chamber of Commerce, 2007, webpage: MChamber-Mardi.
- ^ a b c d e f g "Gulf Coast's oldest Mardi Gras" (overview), USA TODAY, 1-26-2004, webpage: UToday-MG (lists throws as stuffed animals, Moon Pies, sunglasses, beads).
- ^ a b c "Mobile Carnival Association, 1927" (3rd group), Mardi Gras Digest, 2006, webpage: MD-com-Mobile-Carnival-Association.
- ^ a b c "Mobile Bay Convention - Mardi Gras Terminology" (list), Mobile Bay Convention & Visitors Bureau, 2007, webpage: MBC-terms: "Carnival" definition has November events & daily parades.
- ^ a b The International Carnival Ball and the Camellia Ball are held in November each year (since 1993), and the grand ball of the Striker's Independent Society is held on New Year's Eve (formerly New Year's Day).
- ^ a b c d e f g "Mardi Gras Information and Safety Tips" (press release), Mobile Police Department, Mobile, Alabama, 2007-02-01, webpage: MPD-press-release (uses term "Mardi Gras season" & prohibits pets, skateboards, motorized scooters, and throwing objects to parade).
- ^ a b "Louisiana Timeline: Year 1699" (events for March 2–3), Encyclopedia Louisiana, September 2000, webpage: EnLou-year1699.
- ^ a b c d e f g "NOLA.com : Mardi Gras : About Carnival" (history), New OrleansNet LLC, 2007, webpage: www-NOLA-mardigras-history.
- ^ a b "Timeline 18th Century: 1700–1724" (events), Timelines of History, 2007, webpage: TLine-1700–1724: on "1702–1711" of Mobile.
- ^ a b c "Mardi Gras in Mobile" (history), Jeff Sessions, Senator, Library of Congress, 2006, webpage: LibCongress-2665.
- ^ "Mardi Gras" (history), Mobile Bay Convention & Visitors Bureau, 2007, webpage: MGmobile.
- ^ "Carnival/Mobile Mardi Gras Timeline" (list of events by year), Museum of Mobile, 2001, webpage: MoM-timeline: states "Michael Krafft in Mobile establishes America’s first organized and masked Carnival Society, The Cowbellion de Rakin Society. On December 31, 1830...
- ^ "About Mardi Gras" (short history), Toomey's, The Original Mardi Gras Headquarters, 2006, webpage: ToomeysMG.
- ^ "New Orleans" (description and history), Microsoft Encarta Online Encyclopedia 2006, webpage: Encarta-NOLA: reported "Areas on higher ground were largely spared, including the center core of high-rise buildings, the historic French Quarter and Garden District neighborhoods, and suburbs such as Algiers."
- ^ a b "Katrina floods downtown Mobile, beaches, bayous" (news), USA TODAY (from AP), 2005-08-30, webpage: USAT-Katrina-floods-Mobile: reported "MOBILE, Ala. (AP) — Hurricane Katrina's surging floodwaters swept over cars and roads and turned downtown buildings into stark concrete islands Monday as its pounding rains and destructive winds hit coastal Alabama."
- ^ a b c See: USS Alabama (BB-60), for Katrina references.
- ^ a b c "Girl killed after Mardi Gras parade" (news), Montgomery Advisor, The Advertiser Co., Montgomery, AL, 2007-02-23, webpage: MA-Mobile-344: reported "Police described the overall carnival as safe, despite the 5-year-old's death [20Feb07 4:30pm]. Arrests included 22 felony charges and 237 misdemeanors."
- ^ a b c d e "The Original Mardi Gras: Mobile, AL" (overview), Squidoo, LLC, 2007, webpage: www.squidoo.com/originalmardigras/ MG-schedule.
- ^ a b c d "Mobile Government - City Council Meetings: Minutes and Agendas" (includes updates to Mobile City Code), City of Mobile, Alabama, February 2004, webpage: CoM-Council-minutes-161.
- ^ "Mam Papaul's Famous King Cake Mix - 29 oz." (descriptions), 2007, webpage: CajunCre-111.
- ^ "Mardi Gras Terminology". "Mobile Bay Convention & Visitors Bureau". Retrieved on 2007-11-18.
- ^ Houston, Susan. "Mobile; It Has History", The News & Observer, News & Observer Publishing Company, (Raleigh, NC), 2007-02-04. Retrieved on 2007-05-22.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j "History". "Mobile Carnival Museum". Retrieved on 2007-11-17.
- ^ "Joe Cain Articles" (newspaper story), Joe Danborn & Cammie East, Mobile Register, 2001, webpage: CMW-history.
- ^ "MAMGA History". "Mobile Area Mardi Gras Association". Retrieved on 2007-11-18.
[edit] External links
- City of Mobile Alabama webpage: mardigras.php.
- Mobile Mardi Gras website: www.mobilemardigras.com.
 Wikimedia Commons has media related to (category):
Mardi Gras or Mobile
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- Mobile Mystics Mardi Gras Association website: www.mobilemystics.com.
