| Courir de Mardi Gras (Mardi Gras Run) | |
|---|---|
 Masked riders in Mamou | |
| Type | Local, cultural, Catholic, Cajun |
| Significance | Celebration prior to fasting season of Lent |
| Celebrations | Rural tradition, parties |
| Date | Mardi Gras, Tuesday before Ash Wednesday |
| Frequency | annual |
| Related to | Mardi Gras |
The Courir de Mardi Gras (Louisiana French pronunciation: [kuɾiɾ d maɾdi ɡɾa], French pronunciation: [kuʁiʁ də maʁdi ɡʁa]) is a traditional Mardi Gras event held in many Cajun and Creole communities of French Louisiana on the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday. Courir de Mardi Gras is Louisiana French for "Fat Tuesday Run". This rural Mardi Gras celebration is based on early begging rituals, similar to those still celebrated by mummers, wassailers, and celebrants of Halloween.[1] As Mardi Gras is the celebration of the final day before Lent, celebrants drink and eat heavily, dressing in specialized costumes, ostensibly to protect their identities. In Acadiana, popular practices include wearing masks and costumes, overturning social conventions, dancing, drinking alcohol, begging, trail riding, feasting, and whipping. Mardi Gras is one of the few occasions when people are allowed to publicly wear masks in Louisiana.[2] Dance for a Chicken: The Cajun Mardi Gras, a documentary by filmmaker Pat Mire, provides insight into the history and evolution of this cultural tradition. In popular culture, two HBO series (the crime drama True Detective and the post Hurricane Katrina themed Treme) also make reference to the tradition.[3]
- ^ Barry Jean Ancelet (1989). Capitaine, voyage ton flag : The Traditional Cajun Country Mardi Gras. Center for Louisiana Studies, University of Southwestern Louisiana. ISBN 0-940984-46-6.
- ^ "RS 14:313". Retrieved March 22, 2015.
- ^ Heigl, Alex (March 4, 2014). "Courir de Mardi Gras: The Strangest Tradition You've Never Heard Of". People. Retrieved March 17, 2014.