Phoenix Rising

Louisiana and Mardi Gras. They go together like red beans and rice. New Orleans and Jazz.

Mardi Gras isn’t just one day but a season, an attitude. Carnival season starts when the first King Cake appears on the Feast of Epiphany.  In turn, the day following, “Ash Wednesday” is determined by the date of Easter which is set as the Sunday following the paschal full moon, which is the full moon that falls on or after the vernal equinox. A. Mouth. Full.

Like so many things in South Louisiana, the lines between sacred and secular are often blurred. Easter is late this year which made for a long Carnival season.

“Throw me sumthin’, Mister”!

Young. Old. In-betweens. The art of the ‘catch’. Balls. Doubloons. Pearls. Krewes. Kings. Queens.  Floats. Flambeaux. Laissez le bon temps rouler.   Let the good times roll.

It’s taken me over two decades to appreciate the finer points of the culture and tradition of Mardi Gras.  Joie de vivre  Twenty-five years of living here, this North Louisiana native-Irish-Catholic is still much more at home on Ash Wednesday; however, I have come to appreciate the rhythm and cadence of the changing seasons.   Last summer I went to a parade back home in North Louisiana only to realize that most parades pale in comparison once you’ve been to any parade in South Louisiana. 

Saturday I attended a local Mardi Gras parade with friends.  A beautiful,warm day.  There are no strangers at these events in South Louisiana. At one point the parade stopped for over 30 minutes. While we waited, music from the floats continued  playing. A beautiful little boy, eight or nine, started dancing.  The woman next to him joined in. Total strangers dancing together, joined in community. Diverse in age, race. No labels. Serendipity. Joy. The moment was beautiful.

                                                                                   As with all good things the parade ended. My son Patrick always liked the ‘last float’: the street sweepers.  He enjoyed seeing the beads attached to the brushes. I always thought it was a nice segue from Carnival to Lent, a cleansing. Some of the things I have in my life need cleaning up, sprucing up.

Lent.  A good street sweeper would do the trick. Slowing down after the parade. There are a few remnants of the good times had but cleaning up, examining the leftovers. Taking time. Thinking about others.

Finding the old leaves and burning them could be the right idea after all. Starting fresh. A phoenix rising from the ashes.