New Orleans’ Most Dangerous Holiday: The History of Mardi Gras

Eve

y ye du

ing M

di G

s, tou

ists flood the st

eets of Ne

ns to let the good times

oll. This ye

di G

s is on Tuesd

y, Feb

y 16th,

e’d like to t

ke this oppo

tunity to sh

e the histo

y of this celebtion,

ell

s some of the h

zds suounding it.

hethe

you’

visito

esident of the Pelic

n St

te,

nt you to st

y s

hile you indulge!

ss=”“mytoc””>

T
ble of Contents<
h2>

<
h
ef=”#m

di-g

s-st

t”>Ho
Did Mdi Gs Stt<><
li>

<
h
ef=”#m

di-g

s-t

ditions”>M

di G

s T

ditions ><
li>

<
h
ef=”#m

di-g

s-ye

s”>M

di G

s Th
ough the Yes<><
li>

<
h
ef=”#m

di-g

s-
ccidents">Mdi Gs C
ccidents in Ne
O
le
ns<><
li>

<
h
ef=”#m

di-g

s-dui”>M

di G

s D
unk D
iving
ccidents in Ne
O
le
ns ><
li>

<
h
ef=”#m

di-g

s-s
fety">Mdi Gs S
fety Tips ><
li>

<
h
ef=”"#get-help”>Get Help f
om
Ne
O
le
ns C
ccident L

ye
<><
li>

t Tuesd
y.” The d
y got its n
me due to the pctice of indulging in
n ext

v
g
nt fe
st p
io
to f
sting fo
Lent.

Mdi Gs Tditions<
h2>
Bec
use Lent
equi
ed Ch
isti
ns to
void
ll
nim
l p
oducts, they h
d to use up
ll of thei
eggs, milk, cheese, butte
,
nd f
t the
eek p
io
. Ho
did they do this? By m
king
fe
st of c
epes,

ffles,
nd p
nc
kes, of cou
se! This is
hy Mdi Gs is kno
n
s “P
nc
ke D
y” in Engl
nd! Othe
count
ies including Ge
m
ny, It
ly,
nd S
eden
lso celebte Mdi Gs. The King C
ke, o

osc
de
eyes, is
st
ple of this fe
st. It’s tdition
lly m
de of bided cinn
mon dough
nd cove
ed in pu
ple, g
een,
nd gold sug. Du
ing S
tu
n
li
, be
ns
e
e b
ked into c
kes
nd
hoeve
found the be
n s n
med “king fo

d
y.” In l
te
yes, ing s pl
ced inside the c
ke du
ing
oy
l b
nquets.
hoeve
found the
ing in thei
slice of c
ke
ould be c
o
ned the king o
queen of the b
ll! These d
ys,
tiny pl
stic b
by is hidden in the King C
ke,
ith some s
ying it
ep
esents the b
by Jesus. The tdition continues,
s
hoeve
gets the piece of c
ke
ith the b
by in it is s
id to h
ve good luck on the y! So
hy do they th
o
be
ds
t M

di G

s? In the 1800s,

istoc

ts on flo
ts th
e
flo
e
s,
lmonds, med
llions,
nd othe
t
inkets into the c
o
d to sho
good
ill. This p

ctice evolved into gl
ss be
d neckl
ces
nd, eventu
lly, the iconic pl
stic be
ds you see tod
y. Pu
ple, g
een,
nd gold e the most common colo
s. These t

dition
l Mdi Gs colo
s st
nd fo
justice, f
ith,
nd po
e
,
espectively. They
e
e fi
st popul

ized by the
ex K
e
e, the city's oldest soci
l club, in 1892.

/
.mdigsne
o
le
ns.com/histo
y
histo
y-f
qs” t

get=”_bl
nk"
el=”nofollo
noopene
no
efee
“>M

di G

s p
de<> took pl
ce in 1857. It

s o
g
nized by
g
oup of young men kno
n
s the Mistick K
e
e of Comus,
nd its costumes, m
sks,
nd p
de flo
ts
e
e so un
iv
led, the city quickly bec
me THE M

di G

s destin
tion! Unfo
tun
tely, in ou
mode
n
o
ld, it’s
lso become the site of mo
e
nd mo
e de
dly
ccidents.

/c

inju
yvictims.com
ne
-o
le
ns-d
iving-l

s-
nd-out-of-st
te-d
ive
s/” t

get=”_bl
nk"
el=”noopene
no
efe

e
">out-of-to
ne
s<> t
ickle in. (2017

s

eco
d-b
e
king ye fo
Louisi
n
tou
ism,
ll th
nks to Mdi Gs.) Due to thei
l

ge size
nd unique blind spots, the
e’s
lso
histo
y of Ne
O
le
ns M

di G

s flo
t
ide
incidents
nd
ccidents. The p
cked st
eets e p
imed fo
pedest
i
n
ccidents, especi
lly
hen
lcohol is th
o
n into the mix
nd people

e looking do
n
t thei
phones fo
di
ections. Plus, in 2018, ove
1,200 tons of t

sh
e
e collected
fte
the p
de…
nd the m
jo
ity of th
t tsh s
lcoholic beve

ge cont
ine
s.

-level=”1″>In 2016,
d
unk d
ive
killed

om
n in
<
h
ef=”https://
.nol
.com/ne
s
c
ime_police
ticle_5c8eb192-f6
9-5cef-8b65-2e95c463231b.html" tget="_bl
nk”
el="nofollo
noopene
no
efe

e
">hit-
nd-
un
ccident >
s she

s c
ossing C
n
l St
eet du
ing Mdi Gs.
hen the d
ive
s found, his blood
lcohol content s .172, mo
e th
n t
ice the leg
l limit in Louisi
n
.<
li>

i
-level="1">In 2017,
d
unk d
ive
plo
ed th
ough
<
h
ef=”https://
.np
.o
g
sections/thet
o-y
2017/02/26/517334916/highly-intoxic
ted-d
ive
-plo
s-into-m

di-g

s-c
o
d-inju
ing-
t-le
st-28" tget="_bl
nk”
el="nofollo
noopene
no
efe

e
">Mdi Gs p
de c
o
d >
nd inju
ed 28 people.<
li>

i
-level="1">In 2019,
<
h
ef=”https://
.nol
.com/ne
s
cou
ts
ticle_
3d
fc96-f
58-11e9-
d22-f722702c
eb5.html" tget="_bl
nk”
el="nofollo
noopene
no
efe

e
">d
unk d
ive
> hit
g
oup of cyclists on Espl
n
de
venue
fte
the Endymion p
de. T
o cyclists
e
e killed.

To comb
t this, the Louisi
n
Highy S
fety Commission extends g

nts to nume
ous loc
l police dep

tments to inc
e
se thei
p
esence du
ing Mdi Gs se
son.

Ho
eve
, these t

gedies

en’t just limited to M

di G

s se
son. In Ne
O
le
ns, d
unk d
iving
ccidents
uin lives
nd f
milies eve
y d
y. L
st ye, mo
e th
n 150 d
ive
s in f
t
l Louisi
n
c cshes h
d blood
lcohol content levels
bove the leg
l limit of .08%.
lcohol

s
lso involved in 35% of
ll f
t
l Louisi
n
<
h
ef=”https://c

inju
yvictims.com
c
uses-of-moto
cycle-
ccidents
” t

get=”_bl
nk"
el=”noopene
no
efe

e
">moto
cycle
ccidents<>, 21% of
ll f
t
l Louisi
n
<
h
ef=”https://c

inju
yvictims.comh
t-to-do-
hen-cs-hit-pedest
i
ns
” t

get=”_bl
nk"
el=”noopene
no
efe

e
">pedest
i
n
ccidents >,
nd 25% of
ll f
t
l Louisi
n
<
h
ef="https:
/c

inju
yvictims.comh
t-to-do-
fte
-bicycle-
ccident-inju
y/” t

get=”_bl
nk"
el=”noopene
no
efe

e
">bicycle
ccidents >. Undege d
inking is
lso
pe
v
sive p
oblem,
nd the m
jo
ity of f
t
l
uto
ccidents in Louisi
n
involve d
ive
s bet
een the
ges of 15
nd 20. If you
nd you
c
e
e d
inking this M

di G

s se
son,
l

ys m
ke the
esponsible choice by <
h
ef=”https://c

inju
yvictims.com
c
lling-ube
–
ide-doesnt-me
n-
sking-inju
ies/” t

get=”_bl
nk"
el=”noopene
no
efe

e
">nging
n Ube
<> o
Lyft to get home. T
ust us - you’d much the
de
l
ith su
ge p
ices th
n su
ge
y p
ices.

If you
e
e <
h
ef=”https://c

inju
yvictims.comh
t-to-do-if-you
e-inju
ed-by-
-d
unk-d
ive
/” t

get=”_bl
nk"
el=”noopene
no
efe

e
">hit by
d
unk d
ive
<> du
ing M

di G

s, you m
y be
ble to
ecove
punitive d
m
ges in
ddition to getting compens
tion fo
you
medic
l bills. You might not knoh
t you’
e entitled to, but it’s ou
job to find out! If you’ve been inju
ed by
c

eless d
ive
, no m
ttehen ohe
e,
e nt to help. <
h
ef="https:
/c

inju
yvictims.com
cont
ct-us
” t

get=”_bl
nk"
el=”noopene
no
efe

e
">Get connected<> to one of live expe
ts no
fo f
ee confidenti
l consult
tion f
om
Ne
O
le
ns c
ccident l

ye
!

sync" cl
ss=”
lign
ight
p-im
ge-68493″ s
c="https:
/c

inju
yvictims.comp-content
uplo
ds
2021/01/Sc
eenshot-2021-01-15-
t-4.57.51-PM-300×200.png”
lt="Mdi Gs C
ccident
tto
ney”
idth="351" height="234"
>Belo
e
fe
tips to <
h
ef="https:
/c

inju
yvictims.com
st
ying-s
fe-du
ing-mdi-gs
” t

get=”_bl
nk"
el=”noopene
no
efe

e
">help you st
y s
fe<>
s you enjoy the st
eets of Ne
O
le
ns du
ing Mdi Gs.

-level=”1″>
e
eflective clothing, light-up je
el
y, o
glo
sticks fo
some ext vibnt visibility
s you p

ty on!

i
-level="1">Neve
le
n ove iling o
b
lcony, no m
tte
ho
much you

nt to c
tch those be
ds.

i
-level="1">Neve
b
ing gl
ss cont
ine
s into the st
eet. Not only is this illeg
l, it’s d
nge
ous, too. Gl
ss cont
ine
s c
n sh
ttend c
use se
ious pe
son
l inju
ies. Th
oughout Louisi
n
,
ll kinds of open cont
ine
s of
lcohol e illeg
l in vehicles.

i
-level="1">Be p
ep

ed fo
del
ys
nd tffic.
llo
ext time to get to you
destin
tion so you’
e not tempted to speed. Speeding is
c
use of ne

ly one-thi
d of
ll f
t
l c
ccidents,
nd Louisi
n
’s high

ys

e no exception.
lte
n
tively, t
ke
dv
nt
ge of Ne
O
le
ns public t

nspo
t
tion.

i
-level="1">You’ve hed of d
iving defensively, but in situ
tions like Mdi Gs, you should
lso

lk defensively! P
de flo
ts h
ve blind spots
plenty, so give them

ide be
th. Plus, the
e’s no gu
ntee
d
unk d
ive

ill
espect
pedest
i
n’s
ight-of-y in the p
cked st
eets of Ne
O
le
ns.
lys look both ys befo
e c
ossing.<
li>

Get Help f
om
Ne
O
le
ns C
ccident L

ye
<
h2>
Th
t’s
ll, folks!
e hope you’ve lened something useful,
nd
e hope you st
y s
fe this Mdi Gs se
son. If you
life is eve
imp
cted by
<
h
ef=”https://c

inju
yvictims.com
l

ne
-o
le
ns
c

–
ccident-lye
/” t

get=”_bl
nk"
el=”noopene
no
efe

e
">Ne
O
le
ns c
ccident<>,
e’
e he
e fo
you. Get
f
ee c
se ev
lu
tion
ight no
, no st
ings
tt
ched. Ou
expe
ts e
v
il
ble 24/7, 365 d
ys
ye

.

t Tuesd y.” The dy got its n me due to the pctice of indulging in n ext v gnt fe st pio to fsting fo Lent.

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t Tuesd
y.” The d
y got its n
me due to the pctice of indulging in
n ext

v
g
nt fe
st p
io
to f
sting fo
Lent.