On the Twelfth Day of Christmas...

...the next holiday season started!

One of the many bits of character that New Orleans has about her is Carnival! So, friends, I'm hoping to make part of my blogging in the next month and a half an attempt at sharing what I've learned about it so far. First thing's first: Carnival is the season, which begins on Twelfth Night and ends with Mardi Gras (which is, specifically, the day before Ash Wednesday). Some people seem to refer also to the season as Mardi Gras, but at least now you know the technical vocab. There are an overwhelming number of aspects to the culture of Mardi Gras here in New Orleans, so I'm hoping to share it with you bit by bit. As it turns out, this season is a heck of a lot more than shenanigans on Bourbon Street.

For starters, and for this post, there is Twelfth Night. The particulars of the exact date vary a little by tradition but here, January 6th signals the occasion and with it the arrival of Carnival season. While most of the physical celebrations and parades center around Mardi Gras day and the week or two leading up to it, Twelfth Night means it's officially alright to eat King Cake and put up purple, green, and gold stuff in your houses! So here's to hoping you all eat some cake and maybe even get the piece with the little plastic baby in it (fair warning: apparently, in addition to being good luck, the baby also means you have to buy the next one).

January 6th also happens to be Joan of Arc's birthday. Given that she's quite the hero around these parts, there's a parade in her honor each January 6th, put on by the Krewe de Jeanne d'Arc. (More on Mardi Gras krewes in a later post maybe, but they're essentially different social clubs, some more exclusive and secretive than others. Many of them throw a parade and a ball each Carnival season.) In this particular parade, participants dressed in Medieval clothing and walked through the French Quarter, starting at a statue of Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville (who is credited with founding the city of New Orleans) and ending at the statue of Joan. One of my favorite parts of the parade was the six women on horseback, each portraying a different Joan of Arc. The Joans ranged from a younger Joan to a warrior Joan and a flag-carrying golden Joan (that one represents the statue). There were also these kids walking on stilts, who I'm pretty sure are way cooler than I'll ever be.

Another important (and fun) part of all of these parades are the throws. While these often involve beads of different color and size, they can also include handmade items, which vary depending on the krewe and the parade. While I was hoping to get one of the sweet handmade and decorated wooden swords, that didn't exactly work out. (I think you had to be a cute little kid dressed in a knight costume...live and learn, I guess.) I did get a couple neat crosses, and a magnet too! Seeing as though this particular parade was in celebration of a birthday, numbered candles were also distributed, one for each of Joan's 600 years. Also apparently popular in many parades are doubloons (fun word, no?), which are either wooden or metal and usually feature the krewe's emblem and founding year on one side, with the year of the parade on the other. Take a gander at the spoils of my first New Orleans parade experience:

Like I said, most of the other parades won't happen until the week or two leading up to Mardi Gras, but I'm hoping to do some reading about the season and different traditions, and maybe share some more of it here. So, if there's anything in particular you're curious about, feel free to let me know in the comments or elsewhere. I've just found myself so fascinated by it all that I wanted to share. If you don't find yourself as interested, please forgive me and feel free to just skim these posts. :)

Love,

Allison.