Laissez Les Bons Temps Rouler

Mardi Gras is a huge part of Louisiana culture that I was lucky enough to celebrate this past weekend with many of my high school friends and even some new friends as well. One of my best friends, Melissa, was "Queen of Contraband" for the Krewe of Contraband's Golden Anniversary. 50 years ago, her grandfather started this krewe, which now has a prominent role in the Mardi Gras celebrations of Southwest Louisiana. 

In the presence of royalty

Mardi Gras seems like a crazy spectacle to some people...and it really is...but where I'm from everyone enjoys every second of it! With parades, balls, and crazy costumes, for many people it's the time of their life. In my opinion, everyone should experience it once before they die.

In Morreall's book, he talks about humor can be used to "let people mock authority and tradition, and in general, lighten up," and he uses Mardi Gras as an example of this. Over the weekend I noticed that everything about Mardi Gras is so funny; humor is blatantly present in the costumes and the extravagance of it all.

A member of the krewe

Saturday night was the huge Krewe of Contraband ball, and it began with two "jesters" who were dressed from head to toe in goofy costumes and had masks covering their faces. They set the stage for the queens and dukes that were about to be presented to the crowd. The jesters danced around, hopping and skipping and getting the crowd excited. Many cheered and chuckled at their over-the-top movements and gestures. Then out came the members of the krewe, all male, and their faces were covered so that the focus of the night would be on the queen and the princesses. These men came out yelling, dancing, and handing out beads. All of my friends and I were standing up and hollering in hopes that they would throw beads our way. But thinking back on it, how silly is it that someone would stand and yell and wave their hands like a crazy person just to get some plastic beads around their neck?!?!

The night was filled with laughter and dancing. All of the parents even busted out a few moves...much to their kids' dismay. 

The funniest part of the weekend for me was another celebration held for the members of the krewe on Sunday night. They had hired a band, and everyone was having a good time eating and enjoying their music. But once the majority of the people left and there were only a few of us left, the real dance moves came out. Many of my friends sang karaoke and joked with the lead singer, and they even pressured him to dance in front of everyone as we stood whooping and clapping our hands to the beat. And man, could he dance! The singer even called a few adults out and made them dance in the middle of the floor...they really got into it! My friend Savannah's dad had had a couple of drinks, and he got a little crazy out there. He somehow ended up on the floor doing this strange crawling motion as he rolled around the floor. If you want a little illustration just so you can picture this, you've got it. 

 

As we stood around singing along with the band and dancing, I realized that laughter really does serve to bond people. Whether we were laughing at the masked men, our parents' dance moves, or our friends acting a fool, we were bonding. Many of the young people that were there to support Melissa and to celebrate Mardi Gras were people I had never met before this weekend, and through all of our crazy Mardi Gras experiences I definitely gained some new friends.

Mardi Gras seems to come down to one simple phrase:

Laissez les bons temps rouler...let the good times roll!