Service Article(revised)
T'S MARDI GRAS!!!!! Yes, New Orleans' famous Carnival season is this years' never-ending party and you're invited. Mardi Gras, famous for its colorful and cultural parades, is an experience you can't go any longer w/out! The Streets are packed with both tourists and Native Louisianans as they celebrate Mardi Gras in full color and sound. . The Huge Parades come flashing down the street we fresh music, an explosion of lights, and spectacular floats. Everyone is having a great time, enjoying the festivities of the parade. So you're new to Mardi Gras, but don't want to act like it? Here in brief, are the basic facts about Americas' greatest party.
Carnival season begins on January sixth while the actual date of Mardi Gras varies every year. Mardi Gras Day is the "Fat Tuesday" before Ash Wednesday and Lent. Ok, you will need to know a bit about its' history. The origin of Mardi Gras can be traced back to Rome in the middle ages w/ the welcoming of Spring. In 1872, the appearance of Rex as the King of Mardi Gras brought about the presentation of Carnivals' colors, flag and anthem. The colors of Mardi Gras are purple , gold, and green. While they were probably chosen simply because they looked good together, a meaning was assigned to each of them by King Rex. Purple represents "justice", Green stands for "faith", and Gold signifies "power". A group known in the 1830's as the Comus organization established several Mardi Gras traditions such as the word "Krewe" which is the name for the parades members. Comus also chose
mythological names for the Parades for more of a rich tradition. Many of the Popular Parades are named after Greek Gods such as Bacchus, Orpheus, Endymion, and even the African parade, Zulu.
Nowadays, the actual Parades are organized mainly of large colorful floats pulled by tractors or Mack trucks. These floats are usually two stories with large statues and decorations, telling the story of each floats theme. Parades also consist of Marching bands, ROTC/Color Guards, Radio Stations vehicles, and even policemen. The Krewe of the float are dressed in mask and costume for their float. The average Krewe member might spend around three to four hundred dollars on beads and such. While beads and pearls are the main...
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...a stroll or carriage ride through the Quarter and over to Cafe' du Monde. It's famous for it's beignets, a square-shaped donut minus the hole, dusted w/ powdered sugar, great w/ coffee.
The culture of New Orleans is at its best during Mardi Gras. However so are hotels, so if you're planning on making the trip and staying in downtown New Orleans, make reservations a few months in advance. Despite the French Quarters old historic appeal, there are many excellent hotels to stay at. Well, this is how they do it down in "Nawlins", so if you want a bite of culture and fun, Mardi Gras is the place for you. It's just one of those things you have to visit once, take a few friends and family and a note to remind you that you have to go back eventually. Be sure to make it there a few days before the actual Mardi Gras day, to get a feel for it all, b/c after that, it's gone for another year. Treat yourself to something different this year, something fun, something wild, treat yourself to Mardi Gras. Laissez Les Bons Temps Rouler!! ( Let the good times role)
The Latinos make up close to 16 percent of the total American population, thus becoming the 2nd largest ethnic community. Just like many other migrant populations, the Latinos seek to keep in touch with their Hispanic traditions and cultures. As Alvarez puts it, children born in the US are thus taught certain cultural events and values so as to maintain their lineage. The most common one as discussed by Alvarez in her book is the quinceañera. This refers to a girl’s celebration as she reaches fifteen. This day of celebration is supposed to mark a girl’s transition from being a child to an adult woman. Among other traditional symbols, these parties are huge and include choreographed dances and ball gowns.
Mardi Gras: Mardi Gras mean the ‘Fat Tuesday’. This festival marks the end of the carnival and the beginning of Lent period. The annual celebration starts in 1870. Some colorful dresses, ornaments, toys and the peoples are the main
While Jeannette’s father acknowledges that he is harming his family and tries to better himself, her mother never once tries to improve. She ignores all of her and her family’s problems, often times contributing more to the problem to benefit herself, worsening the situation for her children. The mother copes in selfish ways, disregarding her family in order to make her life more enjoyable. A perfect example is when the family is sitting in the living room without any food, trying to keep their minds off of hunger, when Brian, Jeannette’s brother, sees that the mother is discretely eating a chocolate bar. The mother tries to defend herself, saying that she’s a “sugar addict, just like [their] father is an alcoholic.” (Walls 174) The mother has never showed any signs of an addiction to sugar, and she’s clearly trying to get the kids sympathy for being selfish. She has behavior that is completely destructive for her family, and she needs to learn and practice better coping
Blues for New Orleans: Mardi Gras and America’s Creole Soul. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, c2006.
The challenging and interesting life of a Cajun is characterized by family, music, housing, food, wedding, and ?traiteurs?, just to name a few. Cajun life began in the 1700?s and still exists today. Though a bit has changed since the early Cajuns arrived, the culture is still thriving. Acadiana is the best place to have a taste of the true Cajun culture and forever will be a colorful part of history.
Voodoo Experience. By New Orleans Klezmer All Stars. City Park, New Orleans, LA. 31 Oct. 2009. Performance.
For example, Mardi Gras is celebrated heavily in New Orleans. It always has been. Everyone loves the parades and all the food that's available for tourists to try. After the parades are over, a lot of people like to just hang around on Bourbon St. and have fun and get drunk. Another event that's much known is Bayou Classic. Everyone goes to New Orleans for Bayou Classic. They go to watch the football game. They also go for the concerts. They have different singers that would go down there during the classics and perform. Even some of the celebrities will be there. These events really mean a lot to people all
The Cajuns are thrifty, determined, joyful, devoted people who settled in South Louisiana in 1759. The Cajuns had an affectionate nature that would precise itself in the gatherings of the community. The Cajuns enjoyed festivals, dancing, and food that are essential parts of bayou life. The Cajun was people who would make do with what they had. The Cajuns would work and play with equivalent enthusiasm. In Cajun Country, days rarely went by without cheers of praise to crawfish, rice, alligators, cotton, boudin, and gumbo all the needs of bayou life.
Like the early American settlements along Massachusetts Bay and Chesapeake Bay, New Orleans served as a distinctive cultural gateway to North America, where peoples from Europe and Africa initially intertwined their lives and customs with those of the native inhabitants of the New World. The resulting way of life differed dramatically from the culture than was spawned in the English colonies of North America. New Orleans Creole population (those with ancestry rooted in the city's colonial era) ensured not only that English was not the prevailing language but also that Protestantism was scorned, public education unheralded, and democratic government untried.
Now standing on the Jackson Street Bridge, having made my way down this historic street in Thibodaux, I once again hear the voice, “How’s your mom and ‘dem?” There is no alarm this time, no seeking the source. Capturing the essence of this quaint, sleepy bayou town, it’s easy to see how Thibodaux has earned the nickname, “Queen City of the Parish.”
Imagine you’re in the Deep South, crocodiles, Creole, and the flavor of Cajun America. New Orleans, Louisiana, it’s spring, and it’s time for Mardi Gras. If you want the true Cajun experience, then take a trip down to Broussard’s Cajun Cuisine in Cape Girardeau and they’ll show you what it’s like.
“The presence of God is the finest of rewards.” (Yann Martel, Life of Pi 63) In Yann Martel’s riveting novel “Life of Pi” The basic plot of survival unfolds, however, this essay will show how the hidden yet the dominant theme of religion throughout the story is what helped the main character Piscine Molitor Patel (Pi) survive.
The preparation for this big event starts months in advance. Cofradias are the like the coordinators of the event. In English, Cofradias means brotherhood and they work together to plan and make sure the entire holiday is taken care of. They are also known as the “Heart of the Holy Week”. Confradias have to map out the route of the parade for every day of the week. The parts of the parade that are on main streets have bleachers on the sides for seating. However, these seats must be booked far in advance and are very costly. Cofradias also have to make sure that there are police and security so that the holiday is safe and peaceful. After the day’s parade ends, there are crews that come out and clean the streets. The Confradias are in charge of taking care of the Jesus and Virgin Mary throughout the year and that al...
Nonverbal communication surrounds us all the time. “Nonverbal communication is all aspects of communication other than words” (Wood, 2016, p. 135). It is not communication with words, but we use nonverbal communication when we talk. We use nonverbal communication without even realizing it in every facet of our lives. This type of communication can be challenging depending on someone’s culture. Something that means one thing in America, can mean something totally different in another country. It is important to know this so that you don’t offend someone from another culture (Wood, 2016, p. 149).
Every country in the world has its own festival and celebration. People all around the world love joining together and sharing good time through the festivals and celebrations. Festivals are great way to experience local culture. Sometime they even offer a glimpse into past. There are hundreds of festivals across the world. So are you ready to experience of fun and colorful festivals? Below are some of festivals from Europe, Asia, Africa and Latin America.