Laissez les bon temps rouler! The first Mardi Gras parade of 2015 rolls today on Dauphin Island with Mobile's first parade following on January 30th. The carnival season is here! The city will soon turn purple, green and gold!Along with the revelry, jewels have always been a part of Mardi Gras - from the crowns and scepters of the queen and king to the strands of beads tossed from floats.
Beautiful jeweled crowns and scepters (like these from the Mobile Carnival Museum) are part of the pageantry of Mardi Gras.
For most of us, however, jewels of a different variety are what we associate with Mardi Gras. The cry of "throw me something, mister" is one familiar to all Mobilians. Along with candy, trinkets and doubloons, strands after strand of beads are tossed from every float. In the traditional colors of Mardi Gras - purple representing justice, green representing faith and gold representing power -and every color of the rainbow, these shiny strands are a Mardi Gras icon.
Why beads? How did the tradition of throwing beads begin? The origins of the tradition is not certain. Some accounts attribute the first beads tossed to a 1920's Rex parade in New Orleans. Another legend has it that the first beads to be thrown in a Mardi Gras parade were thrown by a man wearing a Santa Claus suit! Whatever the origins it certainly caught on!
So, getting your catching arm ready - the beads are coming! Need more Mardi Gras bling? Come in and build a Mardi Gras themed Pandora bracelet!
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