Mardi Gras

Mardi Gras / Carnival (Tuesday, February 9, 2016, Fat Tuesday, the day before Lent began).

We spoke about Mardi Gras, how those words were French and translated to “Tuesday Fat”, and how you will find this festival in many Christian-based communities around the world (including Germany, where our O Tannenbaum song had come from). Our focus was Trinidad/Tobago - Caribbean, and New Orleans, Louisiana, USA. We listened to music from both areas, the Steel Pan sounds of Trinidad and Tobago, and the Jazz/Blues of New Orleans. We compared the parades, and the costumes, of these communities (looking also at costumes from sub-parades in less prosperous communities, and homemade costumes). We talked about why food was such a significant component of the festivities (based on the need to use up all cooking fats before the fasting of Lent began). We created masks similar to those we had explored, and ended our day dancing to a combination of Jazz and Steel Pan music.