Tag: Costumes

Fun and Useless Facts about all those ‘Fat Tuesday’ Traditions

Magic in the woods
Fun and Useless Facts about all those ‘Fat Tuesday’ Traditions

This year’s Mardi Gras, a festival marked by an endless cyclone of feathers, costumes, beads and booze that whips through city streets all over the world, is well underway. It’s been called the wildest fete in the U.S., and for good reason: Every year, droves of partygoers flock to New Orleans to take in the floats, the festivities and the food, and to leave their mark on the Big Easy.

Mardi Gras, meaning “Fat Tuesday” in French, has its origins in medieval Europe. What became a legal holiday in Louisiana in 1875 was once a Christian holiday with roots in ancient Rome. Instead of outright abolishing certain pagan traditions, like the wild Roman festivals of Saturnalia and Lupercalia, religious leaders decided to incorporate them into the new faith.

What became known as the Carnival season was a kick-off to Lent, a sort of last hurrah before 40 days of penance sandwiched between Ash Wednesday and Easter Sunday. Eventually, the celebration spread from Rome across Europe to the colonies of the New World.

Since its early days in New Orleans in the early 18th century, Mardi Gras has grown to colossal proportions and includes several familiar traditions, like bead throwing, mask wearing and coconut painting, that are widely practiced today but whose origins may have been forgotten.
Here are the real meanings of five popular Mardi Gras Traditions.

The Wearing Of Masks
Masks are an integral part of Mardi Gras culture. During early Mardi Gras celebrations hundreds of years ago, masks were a way for their wearers to escape class constraints and social demands. Mask wearers could mingle with people of all different classes and could be whomever they desired, at least for a few days.

In New Orleans, float riders are required by law to have a mask on. On Fat Tuesday, masking is legal for all Mardi Gras attendees – although many storeowners will post signs asking those entering to please remove their masks first.

The Flambeaux Tradition
Flambeaux, meaning flame-torch, was the tradition of people carrying shredded rope soaked in pitch through the streets so that nighttime revelers could enjoy festivities after dark. They were originally carried by slaves and free African Americans trying to earn a little money. Crowds tossed coins at the torch carriers for lighting the way for the floats.

Today, flambeaux carriers have turned the tradition into something of a performance. Torch bearers dance and spin their kerosene lights – something the original parade planners didn’t intend.

The Throwing Of Beads
The tradition of bead throwing starts with their original colors. The color of the beads was determined by the king of the first daytime Carnival in 1872. He wanted the colors to be royal colors – purple for justice, gold for power and green for faith. The idea was to toss the color to the person who exhibited the color’s meaning.

The beads were originally made of glass, which, as you can imagine, weren’t the best for tossing around. It wasn’t until the beads were made of plastic that throwing them really became a staple of Mardi Gras in New Orleans.

Rex, The King of Carnival
Every year in New Orleans, a king is crowned. His name is Rex, the king of the Carnival, and he first ascended to the throne in 1872. History has it that the very first Rex was actually the Grand Duke Alexis of Russia who, upon a visit to the U.S., befriended U.S. Army officer George Armstrong Custer during a planned hunting expedition in the Midwest.

The Duke’s visit to Louisiana was organized by New Orleans businessmen looking to lure tourism and business to their city following the devastating American Civil War.
Every year, the Rex Organization chooses a new Rex, always a prominent person in New Orleans. He is given the symbolic Key to the City by the Mayor.

Handing Out Zulu Coconuts
The Zulu Social Aid and Pleasure Club is one of the oldest traditionally black krewes – or parade hosts – in Mardi Gras history. The organization is known for handing out Zulu coconuts, or “golden nuggets.” The earliest reference to these coconuts appears in 1910.

The first coconuts were left in their original hairy state, but years later, Zulu members started painting and decorating them. Getting a Zulu coconut is one of the most sought after traditions during Mardi Gras.

By Philip Ross
International Business Times

Aspidomancy

Aspidomancy

A little known form of divination practiced in the Indies. It was first described by the 17th century writer Pierre De Lancre. The diviner or sorcerer draws a circle in which he positions himself on a buckler (sheild) where he recites certain conjurations. He enters a trance and then falls into ecstasy. When he comes out he can tell his clients things which they want to know, or which the devil revealed to him.

What Mask Do You Wear? Quiz

What Mask Do You Wear? Quiz

One of the first steps toward creating a life that fills us with joy and  contentment is recognizing the role we play that may be keeping us confined in  unhappy, unsatisfying patterns of behavior. Most of us learned our roles early  in childhood, but after a certain point, those masks we wear stopped helping us.  Which mask do you wear?

Take this quiz to see which role you play. You may recognize the masks your  loved ones wear, too!

1. Do you often find yourself thinking, “It should be like THIS” or “They’re  doing it WRONG”?

2. Does your striving for perfection sometimes drive you crazy?

3. Do you feel like you will never be good enough?

4. Do you often tell yourself, “I can’t help it” or “It’s not my fault”?

5. Do you find yourself looking to the past and thinking, “It would have been  alright if only. . .”

6. Do you look to the future and think “Everything will be alright  when. . .”

7. Do you sometimes do things because you think you should or you feel  obligated to, but you really don’t want to?

8. Do you commonly tell yourself that making others happy is more important  than what you need or feel?

9. Do you often say yes when you really want to say no?

10. Do you often rush in to help people and fix it for them?

If you answered “yes” to 1, 2 or 3, you may be wearing the mask of the  Judge. The Judge is the mouthpiece of the Demon of Perfection that says,  no matter how good it gets, it will never be good enough.

If you answered “yes” to 4, 5, or 6, you may be wearing the mask of the  Victim. The Victim makes up “poor me” stories and is rarely in a state of  gratitude or in the present moment.

If you answered “yes” to 7, 8, 9, 10, or 11, you may be wearing the mask of  the Prostitute/Rescuer. The Prostitute pretends to be anything you want  her to be, compromising herself to get what she wants–which is usually love and  acceptance. She hides the truth of how she really feels. The Rescuer is the more  respectable face of this mask–the Nurse endlessly mopping the brows of the  wounded, the Hero rushing in to make everything better. The problem with this  mask is that it subtly (or not so subtly!) tells people, “I don’t respect you  enough to believe you can do this yourself.”

There is no shame in having learned to play one of these roles. Most of us  did. But we can all learn how to gently put aside the masks that hide our  authentic selves.

Daily OM for July 16 – Uncover Your True Face

Uncover Your True Face
Underneath the Mask

Many of us know the feeling of being stuck in a particular role within our families, as if we are wearing masks whenever we see the people we love. Maybe we are the good daughters, expected to always please others, or perhaps we are the family clowns, expected to be jovial and make everyone laugh. This same scenario can play out within a work situation or a group of friends. We may be so good at our role that we hardly even notice that we are wearing a mask, and yet, deep down, we know that we are not free to simply be who we really are. This can leave us feeling unseen and uneasy.

There is nothing inherently wrong with wearing a mask or playing a role. It is a natural part of any social dynamic and it can even be creative and fun. It only becomes a problem when you feel that you have no other choice than to wear that mask, and this is especially challenging if you realize you are never without one. Perhaps you have forgotten who you really are-a vast and unrestricted being of light-and have identified yourself completely with a role. You may be the dutiful, caring son who keeps his parents’ dysfunctional marriage intact. You may be the angelic wife who enables your husband to continue on a destructive path. You may be the cheerful daughter to a deeply depressed mother. Whatever the case, knowing the motivation behind your performance-the function of your mask-can help to uncover your true face.

Anytime we find ourselves stuck behind a mask, it is an indication that we are entangled in a dysfunctional dynamic in which our true self cannot be seen. We have been placed in this situation for the purpose of our own healing and, in some cases, the healing of others. From this perspective, life can be seen as a series of situations that call us to remove our masks-gently, and with great compassion for all concerned-to reveal the beauty underneath.