Talk:Mardi Gras

Change Entry Name From Mardi Gras To Pre-Lenten Celebrations?
Since Mardi Gras is just one of many pre-Lenten celebrations, perhaps the article name should be more general and then each type of pre-Lenten festival can be discussed. They can all still have their own pages but this articles seems to be the main one for all pre-Lenten celebrations.

It just seems that Mardi Gras is without much religous connotation in the United States. So it happens to be the day before the start of Lent, so what. Mardi Gras in the New Orleans sense has no reference point in our society with any church organization or is out of touch with it's religous roots.

The fact that Mardi Gras as celebrated in contemporary New Orleans, is not overtly religious does not negate the fact that it is a pre-Lenten celebration. This is an encyclopedia and an encyclopedias raison d'etre is to explain a thing including its history or background. The background of Mardi Gras and Carnival and Carnivale, etc. is that they are all celebrations in preparation for Lent. Even in modern day New Orleans the streets of the French Quarter are cleared at midnight because at midnight it is Ash Wednesday. I'm not saying the Mardi Gras article should be eliminated but perhaps it could be made a sub-page of a main article on pre-Lenten festivals.and also life is good

Also, the title of the article is "Mardi Gras" but it discusses celebrations that aren't Mardi Gras. Thus, the scope of the article is already general and yet the title refers only to one specific festival. If the article is about Mardi Gras then perhaps we should remove the discussion of Carnival, Carnivale, etc. Or, in the alternative, change the title to "Pre-Lenten Celebrations."

Shrove Tuesday, a common and beloved title in New England, has much import in getting ready for a Holy Lent. There is the inclination to have Dixie Land Music, or other types of social dances with the serving of traditional flapjack style pancake with Sausge, Maple Syrup and all sorts of fruit salads, deserts and other breakfast type foods. The Crepe style pancake is much more closely associated with the English or even German celebration of the day before Lent. In New England and other parts of the North East(OH,NY,PA,etc.) many churches and communities gather for celebrations, sometimes just the "Pot-Luck" or "Dish-to-Pass" Suppers, to get all the rich foods out of the house before Lent. Some churches and community groups in New England (often consiting of Northern European descendants) host a "Ham and Bean" Supper in the days before Lent. The contrast between the Shrove Tuesday festivities and the somber Ash Wednesday Services is striking and spiritual both for those who believe and those who are simply curious. This thought leads me to believe that the very term Mardi Gras may mean very different things to different people.

So merging Mardi Gras with all Pre-Lenten Celebrations seems inappropriate. The links within the body of the article on Mardi Gras or Shrove Tuesday is more than sufficient. Diggledafath,14:55,20 Feb. 2007

Cut sentences
I (Infrogmation)cut out the below two sentences, as they disagree with all the sources I am familiar with. Mobile Alabama is the birth of Mardi Gras not New Orleans let’s get the record straight

"in fact the first Mardi Gras owas celebrated there on February 27, 1827" "The first parade to have floats occured on February 24, 1868 at the New Orleans' Mardi Gras."


 * -- Infrogmation 17:07, 5 Mar 2003

Show me your...
wow, that's a long article without a single mention of boobies and beads. :O


 * They are mentioned in Mobile,Alabama is home of Mardi Gras,New Orleans is not home of Mardi Gras get your facts straight if you must know.

Pensacola, Mazatlán
Under Pensacola, the article states, "Pensacola, Florida is home to the third largest Mardi Gras Celebration in the United States." However, under St. Louis, it states, "The largest Mardi Gras celebration in the United States outside of New Orleans and Mobile is in the Soulard area of St. Louis, Missouri." I thought I'd raise this issue. I didn't change anything because I haven't found any resources that tell me which is true.

In "traditions", where it says: "Other cities famous for Mardi Gras celebrations include Rio de Janeiro; Barranquilla, Colombia; George Town, Cayman Islands; Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago; Quebec City, Quebec, Canada; Mazatlán, and Sinaloa, Mexico." 1) Mazatlán is the city, located in the state of Sinaloa, in Mexico so it should read "Mazatlán, Sinaloa, Mexico". 2) In Mazatlán, there is no celebration of Mardi Gras, and as far as I know, neither in Río de Janeiro nor Barranquilla. They celebrate Carnaval (or Carnival in english terms). Sure, they are on the same date... but if you ask anybody there about tthe Mardi Gras of [Barranquilla, Mazatlán, Río] they won't know what are you talking about. I strongly recommend the merge this article in "pre-Lenten celebrations" as others have suggested.

Copyright Violation
was copied from here www.mardigrasdigest.com/html/mardi_gras_history__timeline_mobile.htm

Mardi Gras is also celebrated in all of the towns in between New Orleans and Biloxi, such as Waveland, Bay St Louis, Pass Christian, Long Beach, and Gulfport, MS. Pass Christian has one of the largest and most popular day parades on the coast, always held the Sunday before Mardi Gras (although it hasn't returned to its pre-Katrina size yet).