Joie de Vivre Débordante à Chaque Instant

February is a wonderful month to begin shifting your priorities toward joy, togetherness, and resilience as we get the opportunity to celebrate a holiday built on these ideals. 

Mardi Gras is a tradition that dates back thousands of years to pagan celebrations of Spring and fertility. When Christianity arrived in Rome, they incorporated these traditions into their relatively new faith rather than dismantling them. This eventually led to Mardi Gras becoming associated with the tradition of lent, giving people the opportunity to feast and party before the long weeks of fasting and penance began.

The first American celebration of Mardi Gras occurred on March 3rd of 1699 when French explorers Pierre Le Moyne d’Iberville and Sieur de Bienville landed near present-day New Orleans. They held a small celebration and named their landing spot Point du Mardi Gras. In the following decades, New Orleans and other French colonies began to mark this holiday with street parties, masked balls, and extravagant dinners. The Spanish put an end to this tradition when they took control of New Orleans, but Mardi Gras was reborn when Louisiana became a U.S. state in 1812; a testament to how this holiday resonated with so many, making it difficult to eradicate.

There are many key aspects of the Mardi Gras spirit that are needed in our current times of division and outrage. 

Joy and Letting Go

Mardi Gras focuses on heavy revelry, music, dance, indulgence, and joy. This is no surprise as the origins of the holiday are linked to ancient festivals honoring Dionysus, the Greek god of wine, fertility, theatre, ecstasy, madness, and ritual frenzy. This practice of allowing movement and indulgence to help us let go of negative emotions and stress is found in countless religious and cultural traditions from the “Shaking Quakers” symbolic dances to the African traditions of Candomble and Santeria. Moving our bodies releases endorphins like dopamine and serotonin, helps shift our brainwaves from active beta waves to the theta waves associated with deep meditation, creativity, and intuition, and our nervous systems from fight or fright to calm. When done in groups, dancing fosters deep connections and creates a sense of unity. 

Ways to integrate this into your everyday life:

• Start your day by dancing alone to your current favorite song.
• Take a Zumba or Jazzercise class with friends or strangers.
• Go out dancing to live music at The Rellik, Lucca, The Cafe at the Inn, or one of our other lively, local venues. 

Unity and Inclusivity

Mardi Gras is a rare time when people from all walks of life come together, sharing plastic beads and rich food, and wearing masks to symbolize equality and community. During a Mardi Gras parade you’ll see a blend of history, art, and creativity in the costumes, local traditions, and sounds. One of the most mysterious, fascinating, and colorful pieces of New Orleans’ cultural quilt that effectively portrays this tradition of community and equality belongs to Mardi Gras Indians, also referred to as Black Masking Indians. A unique and historic subculture of New Orleans, Black Masking Indians and their traditions date back to the 1800s when Native Americans provided safe refuge and a sense of community for runaway slaves. Black Masking Indian culture is influenced by both ancestral enslaved Africans and the friendship forged with Native Americans. 

Ways to integrate this into your everyday life:

• Connect with a stranger you wouldn’t typically initiate a conversation with.
• Visit a museum dedicated to a culture other than your own.
• Read books, watch films, and listen to music created by artists of another race, culture, nationality, or sexuality than yourself.

Resilience

Mardi Gras has proven itself to be inextinguishable, finding new ways to celebrate even when the holiday is challenged or traditional events are canceled. Whether we look at the adapting traditions from ancient pagan roots to European Catholic customs, the post-disaster resilience shown after Hurricane Katrina, or the overall practice of defiance through joy, this ability of Mardi Gras to transform rather than allow itself to disappear demonstrates perseverance. 

Ways to integrate this into your everyday life:

• Instead of giving up, consider a new approach.
• When faced with a difficult season of life, choose to lead with joy, love, and kindness rather than fear, anger, and violent words. 
• Give others grace by keeping in mind how we are all constantly transforming into new versions of ourselves, and this isn’t always a smooth or perfect process. 

In short, embrace life’s richness and human connection through joie de vivre whenever you’re given the chance and “Let the Good Times Roll!”

Is all of this Mardi Gras talk igniting a craving for New Orleans-style food? Here are a few local spots to get a good beignet or poor boy sandwich!

Souley Vegan

If you’re looking for plant-based Louisiana creole cuisine and don’t mind a trip over the bridge, Souley Vegan is once again up and running in Oakland. Located in Jack London Square, Souley Vegan has a seemingly endless menu of delicious bites like Ain’t Gator Po’Boy, Okra Gumbo, and Beignets.