Lundi Gras

• Author: admin
• Filed under: Social Life, What is ?
• Date: Feb 4,2008

The tradition of Lundi Gras (in French, Fat Monday) began in New Orleans in 1874, 18 years after the beginning of modern Carnival celebrations in North America. In that year, Rex, The King of Carnival (also known as The Merry Monarch) chose to have a grand arrival in New Orleans from the Mississippi River. With the School of Design (now known as the Rex Organization) as his court, the King of Carnival made his entrance on the deck of an opulently-decorated paddlewheeler. Once on dry land, Rex and his royal court were placed in carriages and driven through the streets to City Hall. Therein, the mayor and various city officials would present The Merry Monarch with the keys to the city and proclaim the rule of Rex in this mystical and temporary realm of Carnival. Typically, the proclamation decreed the beginning of Mardi Gras and Rex’s reign at sunrise the following morning. Lundi Gras was a success, and quickly became a treasured part of the Carnival celebrations which was unique to New Orleans; no other country or parishes observed the Monday before Shrovetide. Lundi Gras continued as a thriving holiday until World War I stopped Carnival in New Orleans. When the parades again returned to the streets some two years later, the observance of Lundi Gras had fallen by the wayside, a seeming casualty of ‘the war to end all wars.’

Over the next 6 decades, Lundi Gras went ‘underground’ in New Orleans, with some social organizations and krewes attempting to continue the observance with commemorative balls, parties, and soirees every few years. Only the Krewe of Zulu (a krewe created in 1909 to satirize The Merry Monarch and his ways) continued to regularly observe Lundi Gras, keeping the celebration alive.

In 1987, Rex once again made a grand arrival on the Riverfront at the foot of Canal Street to revive the Lundi Gras traditions, with the King of Zulu now extending welcomes to the city to take command of Carnival. Because regular businesses are open on Lundi Gras, the arrival of Rex generally happens in the late afternoon at close of business hours. However, in 2004, the King and Queen of Zulu began the daytime tradition of traveling to Rivertown, some 30 miles upriver from New Orleans to meet the King and Queen of Argus, the primary royalty of Jefferson Parish Carnival. This new tradition marks the first time an Orleanian krewe has acknowledged a Jeffersonian krewe with a public meeting. It also has started the transformation of Lundi Gras into official holiday on the New Orleans calendar.