Mardi Gras is the most popular of hundreds of festivals held each year in the State of Louisiana.We love parades, dancing, and partying.The largest of our Mardi Gras celebrations is held in New Orleans; but, there are Mardi Gras festivities from Shreveport in the north to the southernmost communities of our bayous. The term Mardi Gras means Fat Tuesday.This is the last day of debauchery that we Catholics enter into before the penitential period of Lent, which starts on Ash Wednesday.

Mardi Gras had its origins in Ancient Rome.The Germanic invaders of the Roman Empire had been accustomed to celebrating the rites of Spring by having drunken street orgies. The Holy See tried to stop this pagan practice, but was unsuccessful.So, the Church leaders decided to channel the practice into a Christian celebration as a prelude to the Lenten season.Eventually, the practice died out in Europe during the Dark Ages.During the Middle Ages, the practice was revived in Paris and has spread worldwide.

Today in New Orleans, we celebrate CARNIVAL, which begins on January 6, the FEAST OF THE EPIPHANY.This is the end of the traditional Christmas Season and is the day that the MAGI (three wise men) visited the Christ Child.The Epiphany ends the Twelve Days of Christmas and marks the beginning of CARNIVAL.

Mardi Gras is the greatest free show in North America.The celebration pumps millions of dollars into the state’s economy. The height of the celebration occurs from the Friday preceding FAT TUESDAY (Mardi Gras Day) to mid-night on Tuesday.On the Friday before Fat Tuesday, much of the French Quarter is closed to through traffic and the area becomes a pedestrian mall.By Mardi Gras day, thousands of revelers pack the streets of the French Quarter.Additional thousands line the streets of Metro New Orleans and the parade routes of the Bayou Parishes in South Louisiana.More than 50 parades roll during Carnival.

Mardi Gras always occurs between February 3^rd and March 9^th, based on the Gregorian calendar. Carnival lasts for 47 days preceding Easter, including 7 Sundays.The official colors of Mardi Gras are PURPLE, GREEN AND GOLD, first promulgated in 1872 by King Rex (Rex is the official king of Carnival).Purple signifies Justice; Green signifies Faith; and Gold signifies Power. The term KREWE is the generic name for all Carnival organizations.It was first used by the Mystic Krewe of Comus in 1857. Carnival FAVORS are thrown from the parade floats to thousands of spectators screaming “throw me sumthin mistuh”.

The Super Krewes are ENDYMION, BACCHUS, AND ORPHEUS. They roll on Saturday, Sunday and Monday nights prior to Mardi Gras Day.They have a combined total of more than 100 floats, 90 marching bands, and some 375 parade units.Their more than 3500 members toss more than 2 million cups, 3 million doubloons, and 400,000 gross of beads.A Gross is a bag of 1 dozen beads or 144 strands of beads. That amounts to approximately 58 million strands.

What a party, the kind that only New Orleans can throw.LAISSEZ LES BONS TEMPS ROULER (let the good times roll).

From the very first years of the French colony of Louisiana, New Orleans had its prostitutes. The French had a difficult time getting people to leave France to settle in Louisiana. So, they resorted to emptying jails and prisons and forcing these criminals to colonize Louisiana. Many of these were loose women and prostitution flourished.

Even before Storyville, there were areas of Prostitution in New Orleans. The SWAMP was in the vicinity of the present-day Superdome. It was a hell-hole, with many cockfighting pits, saloons and prostitutes. Many policemen would not venture into the District. Perhaps they feared for their personal safety, but more likely, they did not want the prostitutes to identify them as customers or bribe takers. In the Swamp, for six cents, a man could get a bed, a woman and some whiskey.

The GALLATIN was near our present-day French Market. This was a filthy area frequented by thugs and cutthroats. Legend holds that men went there to dance with naked women.

The BASIN was an area of prostitution along Basin Street. With the advent of the Gold Rush of 1849, many prostitutes moved west and the Basin became a ghost town.

In the centers of prostitution, the profession became sophisticated. Brothels were called Sporting Houses or Sporting Palaces. Many were luxurious mansions with expensive statues, paintings and pianos. They were elegant places with exquisite furnishings. The houses were the sites of high class prostitutes and upper class gentlemen customers.

On the lower socio-economic level, there were CRIBS. These were rooms seven feet across with doors opening onto the street. “Girls” rented these for $3.00 per night, from sundown to sunup. Each room had a bed, a wash basin and a chair.

The RED LIGHT: Initially, railroad men who hired girls’ services would hang a lantern on the door to let other men know that the girl was busy. In time, hanging a red lantern on the door became a way of letting prospective customers know that the girl was available. It also became a sort of Logo to advertise the profession.

In time, the Hussies and Harlots became so brazen that they roamed all over town making obscene gestures and remarks to attract men. The city passed laws to try and control the prostitutes. No prostitutes could live on the ground floor of a building and no prostitutes could legally patronize coffee houses (the latter proved to be unenforceable). The city decided to take more steps to control the “whores”.

Councilman Sydney Story went to Europe to see how prostitution was handled there and he came up with a plan: legalize prostitution in a designated area where the harlots could be watched and controlled. They would be off the streets where they would offend good citizens.

In 1897, the city council passed a law drafted by Story creating the District, a 20 square block area next to St. Louis #1 Cemetery where prostitution was legal. Most local prostitutes moved to the DISTRICT which flourished until 1917. The local press started referring to the area as STORYVILLE, a name which mortified Councilman Story.

In its heyday, some 2,000 girls worked in Storyville, generating a monthly income exceeding one million dollars. They advertised in the BLUE BOOK, which was essentially a catalog of local prostitutes. It listed the names of the girls and described their “talents” and “traits”. The 5^th edition of 100 pages listed 773 girls and sold for 25 cents.

With the U.S. entry into WWI, New Orleans became a major port of embarkation for U.S. troops going to Europe. The Secretary of the Navy decided that Storyville was a bad influence on our troops, so the U.S. Government ordered Storyville torn down in 1917. In closing Storyville, the federal government effectively declared that only ILLEGAL PROSTITUTION would be tolerated near U.S. military installations. The City Council protested vehemently, but to no avail. The closing of Storyville led to the spread of prostitution all over New Orleans.

Every cabbie and bellhop became a pimp or procurer. Bellhops made so much money that they would pay $1,000 to get hired. Payoffs to police and politicians rose to major proportions. Vice spread throughout New Orleans like a fog.

A popular song’s lyrics summed it up:

“Legislature voted the District down; damn good way to spread the hookers around town.”

Henriette DeLille was born in Louisiana in 1812 to parents of French, Spanish and African extraction. Her mother trained her in the arts of French literature, music, dancing and nursing. These were the qualities requisite for a young Creole woman to enter the system of Placage. This was the practice of training a young woman to become the mistress of a wealthy white man. Under the supervision of her mother, Henriette attended Quadroon Balls where white men would come to find young mistresses.

Henriette, a devout Catholic, spoke out against the system of Placage because it violated the Catholic sacrament of marriage. At the age of 14, she was very well educated and became a teacher in the local Catholic school, where she ministered to the care and education of the poor. This caused a rift between her and her mother.

Her mother suffered a nervous breakdown and the courts declared her incompetent and gave Henriette control of her assets. Henriette cared for her mother until her death, and then she liquidated her substantial assets and used the money to establish an order of nuns. This order, the Sisters of the Presentation, was not initially recognized by the Vatican. After securing papal recognition, the order changed its name to Sisters of the Holy Family. This was the first order of non-white nuns in North America.

To this day, Mother Henriette DeLille remains one of New Orleans’ most revered citizens.

The terms CAJUN and CREOLE are among the most misunderstood and misused terms in Louisiana. An understanding of these terms is essential to an understanding of our history and our culture.

CAJUN: When France owned Canada, the French settlers of what is now Nova Scotia and part of Newfoundland, called the region Acadie. During the French and Indian War (1754-1763), the British overran the area and tried to force the inhabitants to swear allegiance to the king of England. This in effect would have amounted to renouncing their Catholicism. When many refused to do so, the British exiled thousands. Some made their way down the east coast to Virginia and the Carolinas. Some went back to Europe and some settled in the Caribbean Islands. By 1762 many of these Acadians made their way to Louisiana, which was French and Catholic. When they arrived in New Orleans, they were not well-received. So, many of the Acadians left and settled in the Bayou Country of southwest Louisiana. There the Indians taught them how to survive on the bayous, and they adopted many Indian cultural attributes. Eventually, the name Acadian came to be pronounced “Cajun”.

CREOLE : A Creole, and all of his/her decendants, is a person born in colonial Louisiana (1718-1803) to foreign-born parents who spoke French or Spanish or learned to speak those languages after they arrived. Thus, we have White Creoles, Black Creoles, and Creoles of mixed races. Today, many Creoles of mixed races claim that term as theirs exclusively, saying that if one is Black or White, he/she cannot be a Creole. This is incorrect. The designation of Creole has nothing to do with skin color; it has to do with place of birth and parental language. Therefore, a person of any race or mixture thereof can be a Creole, if he/she meets the birthplace and language criteria.

SPRINGTIME IN NEW ORLEANS

As Spring approaches. New Orleanians and thousands of visitors will traverse the streets of the French Quarter and enjoy the beautiful colors that reflect New Orleans standing as the most European city in North America. This author will delight in sharing some of the spectacular things that make our city so unique.

A visitor will marvel at the myriad of colors on our buildings, a result of our European roots. These colors have been categorized by the Historic Buildings Landmarks Commission. In descending order of significance, they are as follows:

1. Purple : Buildings of National Importance;
2. Blue : Buildings of Major Architectural Importance;
3. Green : Buildings of Local Architectural or Historical importance;
4. Red : Buildings that have been altered, but if restored would be Red or Green;
5. Gold : Buildings that contribute to the scene;
6. Grey/Black : Buildings which have no Architectural or Historical importance.