IMAGES: The Masks of Venice.
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Editor's Corner
Masks, Parades, Balls = MARDI GRAS
This past week there have been several balls held in a great number of major cities all over Europe, North and South America, all commemorating Mardi Gras. An equal number of parades, especially in New Orleans, Louisiana provided the colorful costumes, masks, fun and excitement in the streets, all designed to entertain, amuse, awe and inspire the viewers.
The festivity begins on January 6th, the Twelfth Day of Christmas on the Twelfth Night Feast of the Epiphany.
This honors the day the three kings visited the Christ child, twelve days after Christmas. The date of Mardi Gras changes every year, but it always falls on the day before Ash Wednesday.
The colors of the Carnival, purple, green and gold represent justice, faith and power, respectively.
The colors were first introduced into the tradition of Mardi Gras with the first parade of Rex, the King of Carnival, in a daytime parade on February 13, 1872, principally to entertain the visiting Grand Duke Alexis Romanoff of Russia.
Among the recently developed Mardi Gras memorobilia is the creation of a Mardi Gras tree. One of the tallest
and richly decorated Mardi Gras trees in the Mississippi Gulf Coast can be found in the lobby of the Isle of Capri Casino, a Crown Plaza Resort, in Biloxi Mississippi. It is decorated with hundreds of purple, green and gold beads, colorful masks and tastefully painted dolls. In recent years, Mardi Gras revelers have created a fad of leaving the Christmas tree up and exchanging the ornaments to represent the carnival season. The traditional beads, doubloons and the beautiful custom painted dolls cover the tree to celebrate the festivities.
I hope you had a fun-filled week as many Mardi Gras viewers did.
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James C. Stathis
Associate Editor
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