Stikii Carnival!

Carnival, or Mardi Gras as you may know it, is a Christian holiday that dates back thousands of years and is celebrated largely amongst Roman Catholic populations. The holiday is said to have originated a long time ago during pagan celebrations of spring and fertility. Once Christianity arrived in Rome, many of these popular traditions were incorporated in to the new faith rather than eliminating them completely. The result was the creation of Mardi Gras as an introduction to Lent, the 40 days of reparation between Ash Wednesday and Easter Sunday. With the spread of Christianity around the world came Mardi Gras as well. The days leading up to Lent were often filled with feasts of meat, eggs, milk and cheese in preparation for the several weeks of fasting and eating only fish meat over the next several weeks. Thus, Mardi Gras, or the Tuesday before Lent, has come to be known as “Fat Tuesday”.

Mardi Gras in the United States is believed to have originated in 1699 when the French explorers Bienville and Iberville landed in what is now Louisiana. This gives substance to New Orleans being the epicenter of the holiday. Over the next several decades, the settlers began marking the celebration with street parties, masquerade balls, feasts, dancing and more.

Current day celebrations consist of parades, throwing beads, wearing colorful masks (purple, gold  and green are often to prominent colors of the holiday) decorating floats, Cajun food and eating King Cake. Louisiana is technically the only state in which Mardi Gras is a legal holiday but festivities can be found across the country and probably in your own neighborhood!  

The following are some fun Mardi Gras facts to get you in the spirit:

–          Mardi Gras colors are gold, symbolizing power, purple, symbolizing justice and green, which represents faith.

–          The French term “Mardi Gras” is translated to “Fat Tuesday” in English.

–          The term Carnival comes from a Latin expression meaning “farewell to the flesh”.

–          The first Mardi Gras parade was staged in the US in 1837.

–          Beaded necklaces came into play in the 1880s.

–          The Kings Cake is ovular in shape and honors the three kings. A small plastic baby, symbolizing the Baby Jesus, is baked into the cake and the person who gets the piece with the baby is said to have good luck for the next year. They are also responsible for bringing the King Cake to the party the following year.

Stikii shoes come in both green and purple and make and excellent footwear choice for your child on this holiday! There is nothing like dressing for the occasion. Stikii is all about honoring tradition, so for all of you out there celebrating today, we would like to wish you a Happy Mardi Gras!