Now that everyone is recovering from their week of Mardi Gras mayhem, I thought it would be a good idea to talk about Mardi Gras Memorabilia! Contrary to popular belief, it is possible to collect Mardi Gras mementos without losing your shirt - ladies, I am talking to you! Before you start thinking about turning your leftover beads into a brand new collection, however, it is good to know a little history about the famous New Orleans celebration!

A Brief History of Mardi Gras

(courtesy of Tracy DeLuca of www.associatedcontent.com)

Mardi Gras literally means "fat Tuesday" in French and is celebrated the day before Ash Wednesday, 47 days before Easter. Ash Wednesday starts a period of fasting in the Catholic religion. Fat Tuesday was the traditional day to feast before the fasting began. Since the majority of settlers in the New Orleans area were Spanish and French with a large Catholic element, the carnival that is Mardi Gras became a traditional feast day in this area. In the late 1800s, Mardi Gras began to resemble what we see today. The traditional colors were adopted and the "krewes" began running the parades. Purple, green and gold are the traditional colors for Mardi Gras. The colors signify justice, faith and power.

The true spirit and grandeur of today's Mardi Gras celebrations began appearing in the 1960s. The tourism aspect of the parades and parties made it financially sound to put many of the cities resources to work for Mardi Gras. Parades, costume contests, masks and "krewes" grew and became common place. Family friendly parades and parties are present as well as the more raucous nighttime festivals. Parades and celebrations of Mardi Gras have now grown and appear in such places as Mobile, Alabama and in many towns along the coast of Mississippi.

The Mardi Gras season runs from January 6^th through Fat Tuesday in February. But, the celebrations do not really kick into gear until the last two weeks before the "official" Mardi Gras day (Fat Tuesday). To truly participate in the drunken revelry of flashing, beads and masks, you need to be on Bourbon street for the last week. Any other place or time is going to be slightly more restrained. Family friendly parades are usually scheduled during daylight hours away from the French Quarter. For more information on this years carnival and celebration, visit the official Mardi Gras website at http://www.mardigras.com/.

Fun Fact: A Little Known Secret about Mardi Gras Beads

When you think of the city of New Orleans’ Mardi Gras tradition and Southern China, an obvious link may not immediately come to mind. But there is a very strong thread joining the two places – one that is decorated with golf, green and purple beads! Thousands of workers in China work hard to produce the beaded necklaces that are such a big part of the Mardi Gras celebration. It is no secret that the Chinese export business has become a booming one.  What is a secret, however, is that the workers who produce the beads have no idea that masked and costumed Mardi Gras celebrators toss those beads free of charge to crowds of screaming strangers!

After the 1960s, China took over (from the previous exporters, Czechoslovakia) as the main producer of Mardi Gras beads.   According to nola.com, Chinese workers who produce the beads believe the beads they are producing are considered real jewelry here and that people shop for the necklaces in jewelry stores.

“The owners of the factory have asked me numerous times not to tell the workers that we throw their things into the street,” said Dan Kelly, owner of Beads By The Dozen, a major supplier of Mardi Gras throws who buys most of his beads from one factory. “The owners said it would hurt their pride. And then they worry that would result in poorer quality.”

Who Knew? Next time you are travelling in China, it would be best not to bring up Mardi Gras in conversation with the country’s native people!

How Mardi Gras Beads are Made:
(according to nola.com)

The actual bead-making process takes 90 to 100 days!

First, a plastic mold is manufactured. During the machine-tooled process, plastic is injected into the mold, forming the bead. From there, it is sent to the metallizer, where color is added. An employee then pulls the bead out (a length can be as long as half a mile!) and cuts it to the appropriate size. Next, the two ends of the bead are fused together and any extra items, such as a medallion, are added. The beads are then hand-stapled into groups and bagged. From there, they are loaded into containers and shipped to the United States, with shipping taking 21 to 24 days. I bet next time you pull out that old bag of Mardi Gras beads when starting your Mardi Gras Memorabilia collection, you will think twice about the hard work and pride that goes into producing those colorful pieces of neckwear!.

A Few Places to Shop for Mardi Gras Decorations, Souvenirs, and Collectibles

Accent Annex - Accent Annex is one of the nation's largest bead retail and mail order suppliers. They have been serving their customers for over 25 years.

MardiGrasOutlet.com - On MardiGrasOutlet.com, they sell their products to businesses and individuals alike at deep discount prices. They are able to offer those low "can that be right?" prices because we they the direct importers of many of the items available on the website. Their ability to eliminate the "middle man" means better prices for you!

Toomey's - Toomey's headquarters is located in Mobile, Alabama. Their new 70,000 square foot building houses one of the largest inventories of Mardi Gras supplies found anywhere. Because they are direct importers, Toomey's offer great pricing to all of their customers. In addition, the store's decor provides a history lesson on America's “Original Mardi Gras” – Mobile, Alabama.