Lundi Gras

Today is Lundi Gras.

It leads to tomorrow, which is Mardi Gras.  On the day before Mardi Gras which hearkens back to 1874, Rex, the King of Carnival, arrives by boat at the riverfront.  The King and his royal court travel from the river to City Hall where the mayor and various city officials present Rex with the keys to the city and grant him temporary control and rule of the city beginning at sunrise on Mardi Gras morning.

Bleubeard and I will be traveling virtually to New Orleans to don our masks and share in the Mardi Gras festivities.  We'll also show that Mardi Gras is loved by encasing masks inside an open Heart, which is also my theme this month at Art Journal Journey.  Let's also visit the colors of Lundi Gras, because green gives us an excellent opportunity to once again join Try it on Tuesday. Purple Represents Justice. Green Represents Faith. Gold Represents Power.  Legend has it that Rex, King of the carnival, selected the official Mardi Gras colors, although the reason behind this decision appear to be vague.

Let's start this journey.

Lundi Gras (also known as Shrove Monday) traditions are mostly observed in the meals that are prepared. Since Lent is a season when no meat can be eaten, Shrove Monday appears to be a day to eat all the meat so it doesn't spoil during the 40 days of Lent.

In England, the British name is Collop Monday, in which the traditional dishes of the day are slices of leftover meat with eggs. In other countries the tradition for Shrove Monday is the Carnival Parade, the most famous in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Different samba schools compete with luxurious costumes and giant floats decorated along one of the avenues, called the Sambódromo, to be the winner of the festival.

In Germany there are also parades, and the festival is called Rozenmontag (a transliteration which means “running Monday”) , when people wear costumes and make fun of politics and public figures.  According to various sources on the internet, it is the highlight of the German “Karneval” procession.

In Greece the day is called Kathari Deftera, also known as Green Monday, and according to various internet sites, the tradition there is to fly kites. Like Greece, most of Mediterranean Catholic countries celebrate Shrove Monday during Carnival with parades and parties.

However, in New Orleans, Shrove Monday is called Lundi Gras

and the events including Carnival, are specific to New Orleans and the surrounding area.

The Monday before Ash Wednesday is known as Shrove Monday.  The three days before Ash Wednesday are also known as "Shrovetide," starting with Quinquagesima Sunday and ending on Shrove Tuesday, known more popularly as Mardi Gras. 

Quinquagesima means the 50th day before Easter, or specifically the last Sunday before Ash Wednesday which marks the beginning of Lent.

This leads to Mardi Gras, the biggest party of the year in New Orleans and around the Catholic Christian world.

The period from the last Sunday before Lent through Fat Tuesday is known collectively as Shrovetide. 

Shrovetide is also known as Carnivale.  It means "goodbye to meat" (from carne, meat, and vale, farewell).

According to several sites on the internet, Mardi Gras is also known as pancake day in Great Britain.

Fat Tuesday is more commonly known as Mardi Gras, which is simply Fat Tuesday in French.

In New Orleans, those attending Mardi Gras parties often wear masks that are donned with feathers.  Those attending Mardi Gras parades vie for the beads that are thrown from the floats.

I began by separating this page into two sides.  Although I used the same background colors, I made the lines vertical on one side and horizontal on the other.  The background is a combination of water soluble crayons and water color pencils.  

For the Lundi Gras side, I computer generated the words and colored them using water color pencils.  The hearts were made using acrylic craft paint.  The green feather was originally light pink, and I dyed it using one of my handmade shimmering mists.

For the Mardi Gras side, I also computer generated the words and colored them using water color pencils.  I used one of my handmade shimmering mists to make the heart, which I cut after I painted the entire page.  I found a Mardi Gras image in my travel brochures, cut it to size and added it to the large heart.

Bleubeard and I are grateful you stopped by today. Your visit means the world to us.  We hope to also see you at Art Journal Journey and Try it on Tuesday.