Mardi Gras in the United States is celebrated in a number of cities and regions in the country. Most of these places trace their Mardi Gras celebrations to French, Spanish, and other Catholic colonial influences on the settlements over their history.
One of the earliest Carnival observations in North America is said to have occurred at a place on the west bank of the Mississippi River about downriver from where New Orleans is today. This Mardi Gras was observed on March 3, 1699, and in honor of this holiday, Pierre Le Moyne d'Iberville, a 38-year-old French Canadian, named the spot Point du Mardi Gras ("Mardi Gras Point") near Fort Jackson. D'Iberville's journals make no reference to any celebration taking place at Point du Mardi Gras, and the first attributed celebration of the holiday in North America took place near present-day Mobile, Alabama in 1703.
The earliest organized Carnival celebrations occurred in Mobile, then the capitol of French Louisiana known as Fort Louis de la Mobile, where in 1704 the first known Carnival secret society (Masque de la Mobile) was formed. In 1856, six Protestant businessmen established the first secret society, or krewe, in New Orleans, the Mistick Krewe of Comus.
Former French and Spanish colonies such as Pensacola, Biloxi, and settlements along the Gulf Coast all followed suit in incorporating Carnival into their annual celebrations, which today have developed either separate traditions or variations of them from one another. In addition, modern activities generally vary from city to city across the U.S.
Early days in the American colonies Mardi Gras arrived in North America as a sedate French Catholic tradition with the Le Moyne brothers, "New Orleans & Mardi Gras History Timeline" (event list), Mardi Gras Digest, 2005, webpage: . Pierre Le Moyne d'Iberville and Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville, in the late 17th century, when King Louis XIV sent the pair to defend France's claim on the territory of Louisiane, which included what are now the U.S. states of Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana.
The expedition, led by Iberville, entered the mouth of the Mississippi River on the evening of March 2, 1699, Lundi Gras, not yet knowing it was the river explored and claimed for France by René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle in 1683. The party proceeded upstream to a place on the west bank about downriver from where New Orleans is today, where a small tributary emptied into the great river, and made camp in what is now Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana. This was on March 3, 1699, Mardi Gras day, so in honor of this holiday, Iberville named the spot Point du Mardi Gras (French: "Mardi Gras Point") and called the small tributary Bayou Mardi Gras. Bienville went on to found Mobile, Alabama, in 1702 as the first capital of French Louisiana."Timeline 18th century:" (events), Timelines of History, 2007, webpage: TLine-1700-1724 : on "1702–1711" of Mobile. In 1703, French settlers in that city began to celebrate the Mardi Gras tradition.This was the 1st Mardi Gras to be recorded in 1703. "Mardi Gras in Mobile" (history), Jeff Sessions, Senator, Library of Congress, 2006, webpage: LibCongress-2665. "Mardi Gras" (history), Mobile Bay Convention & Visitors Bureau, 2007, webpage: MGmobile. By 1720, Biloxi was made the capital of Louisiana. While it had French settlers, Mardi Gras and other customs were celebrated with more fanfare given its new status. In 1723, the capital of French Louisiana was moved to New Orleans, founded in 1718. With the growth of New Orleans as a city and the creolization of different cultures, the varied celebration of Mardi Gras became the event most strongly associated with the city. In more recent times, several U.S. cities without a French Catholic heritage have instituted the celebration of Mardi Gras, which sometimes emerged as grassroots movements to help accompany single people to celebrate something in late winter which is often dominated by the commercialized and couple-centric Valentine's Day, and as a result it has been co-opted as the single people's late winter holiday.
Alabama Mardi Gras is an official state holiday in Mobile and Baldwin counties. Other counties in the state grant employees a day of personal leave in lieu of Mardi Gras.
Mobile
Mobile, founded by Bienville in 1702, is known for having the oldest organized Mardi Gras celebrations in the United States, beginning in 1703. It was also host to the first formally organized Mardi Gras parade in the United States in 1830.
Mobile's Mardi Gras celebrations revolve around mystic societies, private social organizations that have been a fundamental part of the social and business fabric of the city. The mystic societies are organizations, similar to krewes in New Orleans, that present parades, masked balls, and activities for the enjoyment of its members, guests, and the public. Mystic society membership is secret. The mystic societies build colorful Carnival floats and parade throughout downtown Mobile during the Carnival season with masked society members tossing small gifts, known as "throws", to the parade spectators. Throws were first introduced in Mobile during an 1837 Cowbellion de Rakin Society parade. They initially consisted of sugar plumbs, kisses, and oranges. Currently, throws may be trinkets, candy, cookies, peanuts, women's panties, artificial roses, stuffed animals, doubloons, cups, hats, can coolers, Frisbees, medallion necklaces, bead necklaces of every variety, and the iconic Moon Pies.
Mobile's mystic societies give formal masquerade balls, known as bal masqués, which are almost always invitation only and are oriented to adults. Attendance at a ball requires that a strict dress code, or costume de rigueur, be followed. The formal dress code usually involves full-length evening gowns for women and white tie with tails for male invited guests, and masked costumes for society members. The balls feature dramatic entertainment, music, dancing, food, and drinks. Balls are usually based upon a theme which is carried out through scenery, decorations, costumes, and a tableau vivant.
Mobile first celebrated Carnival in 1703 when French settlers began the festivities at the Old Mobile Site. Mobile's first Carnival society was organized in 1704, when Nicholas Langlois founded Société de Saint Louis.
In 1711 it was renamed the Societe du Boeuf Gras (Fatted Ox Society) (1711–1861, 2022–present). In 1830 Mobile's Cowbellion de Rakin Society was the first formally organized and masked mystic society in the United States to celebrate with a parade. The Cowbellions got their start when Michael Krafft, a cotton factor from Pennsylvania, began a parade with participants' carrying rakes, hoes, and cowbells. The "Cowbellions" introduced horse-drawn floats to the parades in 1840 with a parade entitled, "Heathen Gods and Goddesses". The Striker's Independent Society was formed in 1843. It is the oldest surviving mystic society or krewe in the United States.
In 1856 six businessmen, formerly of Mobile, gathered at a club room in New Orlean's French Quarter to organize a secret society to observe Mardi Gras with a formal parade. They founded New Orleans' first and oldest krewe, the Mistick Krewe of Comus.Arthur B. LaCour, New Orleans Masquerade: Chronicles of Carnival (Pelican Publishing 1952) Carnival celebrations in Mobile were cancelled during the American Civil War. In 1866 Joe Cain revived the Mardi Gras parades by portraying a fictional Chickasaw chief named Slacabamorinico while parading in costume through the city streets on Fat Tuesday. He celebrated the day in front of Union Army occupation troops."Joe Cain Articles" (newspaper story), Joe Danborn & Cammie East, Mobile Register, 2001, webpage: CMW-history . The Order of Myths, Mobile's oldest mystic society that continues to parade, was founded in 1867 and held its first parade on Mardi Gras night in 1868. The Infant Mystics also began to parade on Mardi Gras night in 1868, but later moved their parade to Lundi Gras.
The Mobile Carnival Association was formed in 1871 to coordinate the events of Mardi Gras. That year was also the occasion of the First Royal Court at which was crowned the first king of Carnival, Emperor Felix I. The Comic Cowboys of Wragg Swamp were established in 1884, along with their mission of satire and free expression. The Continental Mystic Crew mystic society was founded in 1890; it was Mobile's first Jewish mystic society. In 1894 the Order of Doves mystic society was founded and held its first Mardi Gras ball. It was the first African-American mystic society in Mobile. In 1929 the Infant Mystics, the second oldest society that continues to parade, introduced the first electric floats to Mobile. In 1939 the Colored Carnival Association was founded and had its first parade; it was later renamed the Mobile Area Mardi Gras Association. In 1980 the Order of Osiris, the oldest surviving gay and lesbian mystic society in Mobile, held its first ball. In 1995 the 1st Mobile International Carnival Ball was held, with every known Mobile mystic society in attendance. In 2002, Mobile celebrated its Tricentennial with parades representing every known mystic society. A documentary film, The Order of Myths, was released in 2008 with a focus on Mardi Gras celebrations and how race and class influences many aspects of Mardi Gras in the city, including the mystic societies. According to statistics from the Alabama Tourism Department, Mobile Mardi Gras is the most-attended annual event in the state. The event attracted more than 800,000 people in 2010 and more than one million in 2011.
Demopolis Demopolis, another Alabama city with French roots, has held an annual Mardi Gras masquerade ball since 2008. The ball, hosted by the Marengo County Historical Society, is held at one of the city's historic mansions, Lyon Hall.
The city was founded and named by a group of French expatriates, a mix of exiled former Bonapartists and other French migrants who settled in the United States following the overthrow of the colonial government in Saint-Domingue (Haiti). The name means the People's City or City of the People. First settled in 1817, Demopolis is one of the oldest continuous settlements in the state outside of coastal Alabama.
Arkansas Eureka Springs Eureka Gras is a celebration of Mardi Gras in the Ozark Mountain resort town of Eureka Springs, Arkansas. Begun in 2006 as a "one car parade" conducted by New Orleanian Daniel Ellis after he moved to Eureka Springs in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, it is now run by a so-called "Krewe of Krazo" ("Ozark" spelled in reverse) and has grown into a month-long celebration with a parade running more than an hour, multiple balls, and other events.Juliana Goodwin, "Eureka Springs brings Mardi Gras to the Ozarks", Springfield News-Leader, January 23, 2016.
California
San Diego As of 2005, there is a corporate-sponsored party in the Gaslamp Quarter of downtown San Diego."Bourbon Street in San Diego", The San Diego Union-Tribune, February 7, 2005 . In addition there is a San Diego Brazil Carnival Ball that is part of the San Diego Carnival Mardi Gras season.
San Luis Obispo
Mardi Gras celebrations in San Luis Obispo have been controversial in recent years. In 2005 leaders of this Central California city called for an end to public celebrations, as the city had become a destination for students from across the state, and celebrations had gotten out of control.
Florida
Pensacola Pensacola, Florida hosts a Mardi Gras Celebration. The Pensacola celebrations also use Moon pies in combination with beads, coins, candies & Krewe-related trades. The Pensacola festivities and the Krewes that sponsor them often are more light-hearted and family-oriented than some in other venues. The name of a few of the Krewes are puns of the names of historic Krewes in New Orleans and Mobile.