Denver Mardi Gras
Party Bus
Reserve your spot on the party bus! Contact Kimber with Directline Limo Service at 720.849.6055"
Light Rail
Light Rail goes straight to DAVE & BUSTERS! [http://www.rtd-denver.com] check the schedule - it's only $2.25 to ride !
History
It is generally accepted that Mardi Gras came to America in 1699 with the French explorer, Sieur d'Iberville. The festival had been celebrated as a major holiday in Paris since the Middle Ages. Now it has finally come to Denver!!!
In French, "Mardi Gras" literally means "Fat Tuesday," so named because it falls on the day before Ash Wednesday, the last day prior to Lent...a 40-day season of prayer and fasting observed by the Roman Catholic Church (and many other Christian denominations) which ends on Easter Sunday. The origin of "Fat Tuesday" is believed to have come from the ancient Pagan custom of parading a fat ox through the town streets. Such Pagan holidays were filled with excessive eating, drinking and general bawdiness prior to a period of fasting. Since the modern day Carvinal Season is sandwiched between Christmas and Lent, with Christmas Day being December 25 on the Gregorian Calendar as set by the Roman Catholic Church, this means that other Holy Days are "floating" in nature. Easter always falls on a Sunday, but it can be any Sunday from March 23 through April 25, its actual date being the Sunday which follows the first Full Moon after the Spring Equinox. Mardi Gras is always 47 days prior to this alloted Sunday (the 40 days of Lent plus seven Sundays). The beginning of the Carnival Season itself, however, is also fixed...being January 6, which is the Feast of the Ephiphany, otherwise known as Little Christmas or Twelfth Night. Since the date of Mardi Gras thus varies, the length of the Carnival Season also varies accordingly from year-to-year. The origin of the word "Carvinal" is from the Latin for "farewell to the flesh," a time when one is expected to forego earthly pleasures prior to the restrictions of the Lenten Season, and is thought to be derived from the feasts of the Middle Ages known as carnis levamen or "solace of the flesh."
The traditional colors of Mardi Gras are purple (symbolic of justice), green (symbolic of faith) and gold (symbolic of power).
The Flambeaux Tradition
Lighting up the sky with heavy blazing torches, the flambeaux carrier originally served as a beacon for parade-goers to better enjoy the spectacle of night festivities. The flambeaux carriers were originally slaves and free men of color parading, twirling and fooling around in robes. Initially, the flambeaux were established by the old-line Carnival organization Comus, which sought to make “new people and customs the salvation of Mardi Gras.” The sight of African-Americans lighting the way of the elaborate floats was unforgettable.
Crowds tossed coins to slaves and free men of color trying to earn money for their task of lighting the way for the floats - a custom that continues today. Now, incorporated in modern processionals, the torchbearers are not only a historic footnote, but serve as a world-class example of performance art. The torches may be lighter and use butane or kerosene, but the entertaining exchange between the crowd and the flambeaux is a rich Carnival tradition.
