Has Mardi Gras always been associated with getting drunk and other debauchery?

Question

I was wondering becuase that is what it seems like in St. Louis every year and I've heard that Mardi Gras has more traditional feel in New Orleans. But it seems like the true meaning of Mardi Gras is lost, is that true and how authentic is the St. Louis celebration compared to the ones in New Orleans?

Answer 1

I have lived in NAWLINS since 1977 and to the general populace it has been liked to all sorts of debauchery. To the faithful followers of the Catholic faith, Fat Tuesday or Mardi Gras, is their day of revelry / overindulgence before repentance. I am really not familiar how it is done in St Louis or any other part of the Catholic community.

This Mardi Gras prayer may give you a better understanding...A Mardi Gras Prayer for the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday
Mardi Gras ("Fat Tuesday") and Carnival ("Farewell to Meat") precede Ash Wednesday and Lent around the world, even where Lent has ceased to have much religious meaning. It was natural to develop a festival, a "last fling," before the prayerful fasting and abstinence of Lent.
How can we give this day before Ash Wednesday some religious meaning for us?
It may be that we are going to a Mardi Gras party and there will be much feasting. Our country may celebrate Carnival with gusto. Perhaps we can have a special family dinner together, with meat.
What's important is that we let our feasting anticipate our fasting. One way to do that is to begin to focus on the meaning of the day, when we first get up. It can create a sense of anticipation all day, that something very new is about to begin tomorrow.
We can prepare for whatever we will do, no matter how purely "social" or simply ordinary our day will be. Knowing why we go to a party, or enjoying the planning or preparation for a special meal, will add much meaning to this day.
Our Prayer
In these or similar words, we can pray in the spirit of this day.

Blessed are you, Lord God of all creation,
for it is from your goodness that we have this day
to celebrate on the threshold of the Season of Lent.
Tomorrow we will fast and abstain from meat.
Today we feast.
We thank you for the abundance of gifts you shower upon us.
We thank you especially for one another.
As we give you thanks,
we are mindful of those who have so much less than we do.
As we share these wonderful gifts together,
we commit ourselves to greater generosity toward those
who need our support.
Prepare us for tomorrow.
Tasting the fullness of what we have today,
let us experience some hunger tomorrow.
May our fasting make us more alert
and may it heighten our consciousness
so that we might be ready to hear your Word
and respond to your call.
As our feasting fills us with gratitude
so may our fasting and abstinence hollow out in us
a place for deeper desires
and an attentiveness to hear the cry of the poor.
May our self-denial turn our hearts to you
and give us a new freedom for
generous service to others.
We ask you these graces
with our hearts full of delight
and stirring with readiness for the journey ahead.
We ask them with confidence
in the name of Jesus the Lord.

Answer 2

Mardi Gras came to New Orleans through its French heritage in 1699. Early explorers celebrated this French Holiday on the banks of the Mississippi River. Throughout the years, Orleanians have added to the celebration by establishing krewes (organizations) which host parades and balls. Carnival quickly became an exciting holiday for both children and adults.
Mardi Gras means "Fat Tuesday" and of course is celebrated on that day of the week. The date can fall between February 3 and March 9 depending on the Lunar calendar, used by the Catholic Church to determine the date of Easter. Mardi Gras is always 47 days before Easter Sunday.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mardi_Gras#Locations

http://www.mardigrasdigest.com/html/mardi_gras_history__timeline_mobile.htm




http://www.eastjeffersonparish.com/culture/MARDIGRA/HISTORY/history.htm

Answer 3

Mardi Gras, or "Fat Tuesday," is a traditional Catholic "holiday" that's typically celebrated by feasting. It the day you have all the "fats" before you going into Lent.

In other parts of the world "Carnivale" is quite similar to the Mardi Gras we see in the US.

Has New Orleans MG gotten out of hand? Perhaps. Is it a disgrace that a Catholic holiday has been hijacked by college students? Yup.

But, in the end (beginning), the holiday has been traditionally celebrated with some sort of "excessive: behavior.

Answer 4

Mardi Gras (French for "Fat Tuesday") is the day before Ash Wednesday, and is also called "Shrove Tuesday" or "Pancake Day". It is the final day of Carnival. It is a celebration that is held just before the beginning of the Christian liturgical season of Lent.

i think it goes nuts because everyone gives something up for lent, so its an all out with no repercussions

Answer 5

Take Me To The Mardi Gras - Paul Simon,

Answer 6

Mardi Gras means fat Tuesday and was a day of fasting prior to beginning Lent. The idea was to use up any fat left in the household (comes from meat) because meat was not allowed during lent. Also known as Pancake Tuesday because people use up their fat frying pancakes.

Answer 7

it may have become a binge fest of epic proportions, but Mardis Gras translates literally to Fat Tuesday. It is based on a Catholic tradition of feasting before Lent, which is a period of fasting.