With every holiday comes a tradition or a story that gets passed on from generation to generation. Yesterday was Fat Tuesday, or as most of you know it, Mardi Gras, which marks one final day of decadent living before Lent begins. Apart from the religious history of Mardi Gras and Lent, I find it a truly unique and interesting holiday that has created a culture and style all its own! Leave it to myself to recognize the fashion influence on this celebration–the costumes, the masks, the floats, the beads!–they all create a fantasy world we can celebrate in, if only for one day.
Mardi Gras and Carnival are celebrated through a series of parades and masquerades throughout the city of New Orleans and all over the world. Masks have been worn in New Orleans for centuries and the tradition originated to keep upper class citizens’ identities secret during the festivities. No one knew who they were and they could stay anonymous to enjoy the celebrations along with everyone else. Since then, masks have become a symbol of Mardi Gras and the freedom that the holiday represents.
Another “fashion” aspect of this holiday I have always been interested in is the use of green, purple and gold. When it comes to colors, there is almost always a story or theme behind them, just like in the fashion world! The story behind the Mardi Gras colors is nothing more than what each color symbolizes and how those aspects come into play as we head into Lent. Since 1872, the colors have come to mean the following:
Green- Faith
Purple- Justice
Gold- Power
I think these are each very strong, meaningful colors and this Mardi Gras history gave me an entirely new way to view them! Take a look at how you can interpret green, purple and gold with your jewelry to symbolize faith, justice and power! Do you have more ideas? Share with us how you would interpret these colors and what they stand for!