Today is Lundi Gras (“Fat Monday”), the day before Mardi Gras (“Fat Tuesday”). In New Orleans, those who can (and truth be told, many who can’t) start the party early today, or else get things ready for the party tomorrow. I have even known die-hards who go out to their favorite spot on the St. Charles Avenue parade route to camp out overnight so as to beat the folks who don’t get out there until after dawn, but honestly, I think that’s a bit mental. Of course, I was always more of a Vieux Carre celebrant than a paradegoer, which works a lot better for a woman who has difficulty making it to her own kitchen by 8 AM, much less some crowded and possibly cold, rainy neutral ground somewhere in the Garden District. It has now been 18 years since I’ve been to a Mardi Gras celebration of any kind, and noplace I’ve lived since even seems to know it exists (or else they call it by some Philistinism like “Pancake Day”, about which the less said, the better). But to this day it feels very weird to me when businesses are open or people want to schedule things on Mardi Gras, and I don’t think that will change between now and that future day when I eat my very last piece of king cake.
Archive for February 12th, 2024
Diary #711
Posted in Diary, tagged carnival, holidays, New Orleans, psychology on February 12, 2024| Leave a Comment »
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