The Riverwalk is just lovely and you meet the nicest people there. Again, thank you for the correction. We are re-posting the exchange here since we encounter this sentiment and get questions like this often:. Whenever we have a foolish urge to head to New Orleans for Mardi Gras, we do what most wise people would: have a Sazerac and wait it out. I am a fifth-generation New Orleanian with two children, and when they were nearing their teenage years, I actually felt guilty for going to and enjoying parades!
Because Mardi Gras is and always has been a family event! It is not for drunks and never has been. It is sad that so many have that misconception.
In fact, this is the best place to come if you have a child and want to enjoy outdoor picnics and watch the Greatest Free Show on Earth. You and your family will enjoy watching marching bands, listening to music in the air and catching free toys, doubloons, and beads. You can feel the excitement in the air! While you wait for the parade, have that cotton candy and sit down on your chair or right on the ground with the rest of your family.
Enjoy watching other throw frisbees and walk their dogs. Watch for the approaching parades, and see if you can catch doubloons from the celebrities. Unfortunately, and in part due to the way the news media has focused on the activities of those who visit and go the French Quarter after the parades when people hear the words "Mardi Gras" all they think about are the activities occurring in the French Quarter i.
That is not Mardi Gras. It has absolutely nothing to do with the real Mardi Gras celebration. Unfortunately, sex makes more news, so every news camera visiting our beautiful city for Mardi Gras heads for the spring break crowd on Bourbon Street instead of giving adequate coverage to those who spend thousands of dollars and months of time planning this holiday season.
It is our hope that visitors who have seen Internet sites by tourists showcasing these tourists will realize that they are only seeing one-tenth of one percent of what happens during the entire Mardi Gras season in New Orleans. Hopefully, people will soon realize Mardi Gras is not one big spring break for dirty old men, but an enjoyable celebration for families and friends. Locals stay away from the crowded French Quarter in the evenings after a parade, but we wouldn't miss Mardi Gras for the world!
Writer Response: Thanks for the note. Mardi Gras beads are strings of brightly coloured, shiny beads that are often handed out at Mardi Gras, and used to decorate the streets of New Orleans for the carnival.
They are often referred to as Mardi Gras throws and sometimes, the necklaces are also made with fake coins and cups. The beads are typically gold, green and purple — colours which, in Christianity, represent power, faith, and justice respectively. If you want to get your hands on Mardi Gras beads in the part of the world, you can buy them on eBay or Amazon.
They were joined by more mischievous attendees, who threw dirt or flour on people in an effort to stir up a little bit of trouble. Why beads? Tiny tokens that represent wealth, health, and other prosperity have been a part of human history for centuries. In Egypt, tokens were handed out in the hopes they would guarantee a happy afterlife; the abacus, or bead-based system of accounting, used trinkets to perform calculations; pagan pre-winter rituals had people throwing grains into fields hoping to appease gods that would nourish their crops.
Humans, argues archaeologist Laurie Wilkie, display "bead lust," or a penchant for shiny objects. It's one possible reason why Mardi Gras attracts so many people with their arms in the air, elated to receive a gift of cheap plastic. The early beads were made of glass before more efficient production methods overseas led to an influx of plastic beads in the s.
Unlike some of the more organic predecessors, these beads have come under criticism for being a source of health problems and pollution.
Made from petroleum, they often harbor lead that seeps into the soil and rubs off on hands.
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