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Written by MARLO FONG

Graphics by AMAYA MURRAY

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Students congregated at Miramonte last week for a night in New Orleans as our community  celebrated the annual district-wide Mardi Gras dance presented by Miramonte BSU and leadership. This celebration is like no other, as it is filled with the magic of Mardi Gras and celebrated among the combined students of Acalanes Union High School District.

This year’s annual Mardi Gras dance, which was hosted by Miramonte’s Black Student Union, was held on Friday, Feb. 23, from 7:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m. There was a DJ, free food, a 360 Photo Booth, and an airbrush tattoo artist. Tickets were $10 through GoFan.

Mardi Gras, French for “Fat Tuesday”, is a Christian holiday that takes place the day before Ash Wednesday, this year falling on February 13th. It marks the ending of the Pre-Lenten season where people fast for the following 40 days. They do this because they believe fasting symbolizes repentance, disciplines their bodies and trains their minds to obey God’s will. 

This tradition dates back thousands of years and has evolved into a colorful and lively celebration. The revelry has many names aside from just Mardi Gras, for example, Pancake Day, Pancake Tuesday and Shrove Tuesday, and more. But how did this tradition adopt the name Mardi Gras in the first place? 

The festival originated in Medieval Europe where it spread from Rome to Venice to France, then made its way over to North America by the French-Canadian explorer Jean Baptiste Le Moyne Sieur de Bienville. There he named his campsite Point du Mardi Gras where he later held a small party on March 3,1699, a place about 60 miles south of present-day New Orleans. Though the most prominent in New Orleans, the holiday is celebrated widely throughout other parts of the United States and many other countries. Some of the most popular places to celebrate Mardi Gras other than New Orleans are Rio de Janeiro, Venice, Binche, Sydney and Port of Spain. People come from all over the world to celebrate in these cities.

Large Mardi Gras celebrations consist of music, parades, floats, and more. These annual traditions evoke mass excitement and enthusiasm among the community. People also use this as an opportunity to dress up in colorful costumes and highlight colors like green, purple and gold. They also accessorize with beads and masks. On the day, there are usually many people and families that can be seen walking around, eating good food, dancing and watching the floats go by.

Even though our Mardi Gras dance wasn’t exactly as passionate as the festivals in New Orleans, it was still as entertaining and lively, thanks to our energetic Las Lomas, and whole Acalanes Union community!