Objects
Packaging
Paper
Signs
Brands
Holidays
Subject
AD
X
Vintage Mardi Gras Collectibles
We are a part of eBay Affiliate Network, and if you make a purchase through the links on our site we earn affiliate commission.
Mardi Gras is technically "Fat Tuesday" or "Shrove Tuesday," or the last day of the Carnival season (also spelled "Carnaval" or "Carnevale"). In Catholicism, the weeks-long festival of Carnival begins on the Christian holiday known as Epiphany,...
Mardi Gras is technically "Fat Tuesday" or "Shrove Tuesday," or the last day of the Carnival season (also spelled "Carnaval" or "Carnevale"). In Catholicism, the weeks-long festival of Carnival begins on the Christian holiday known as Epiphany, or Three Kings Day, the day the wise men called Magi were believed to have visited the Christ child, also known as "The Twelfth Day of Christmas," on January 6. Carnival events happen every weekend until the last 3-12 days before Ash Wednesday, when the celebration frequency ramps up to daily. Lent, when Catholics start 40 days of penitence before Easter, begins on Ash Wednesday.
Carnival is a time of indulging in rich, fatty foods, alcohol, revelry, and other desires; it's followed by Lent, a time of restraint, fasting, abstaining from sex, and repentance. It has been suggested that Mardi Gras evolved from hedonistic ancient Roman or pagan festivals that celebrated fertility and rebirth such as Saturnalia and Lupercalia, but scholars now question those associations. Anthropologists consider Carnival a "reversal ritual" in which social mores are suspended or turned upside down for a short time—the intent is to prove why such rules are needed.
Carnival is thought to have originated around Venice, Italy, in the Middle Ages, but it was outlawed in the republic entirely in 1797, despite having spread by then across Europe and to North and Latin America. The Venetian Carnival traditions re-emerged quietly at private, artistic parties in the 19th century, and were only officially reinstated in 1979.
Elaborate masks have always been an important part of Venetian Carnival; the anonymity allowed people to flout the normally unyielding rules of class hierarchy in the republic, particularly around attire. Many of the masks were based on stock characters from Commedia dell'arte such as Colombina, Pantalone, and Arlecchino (also known as "Harlequin"). Medieval Venetians got up to all sorts of debauchery during the festival: Young men would throw eggshells filled with perfume (or ink) at the women they liked; others indulged in gambling.
Brazil is known for its elaborate Carnival celebrations—particularly in Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, and Vitória—where samba schools put on huge parades reveling in Afro-Brazilian culture with brightly colored, bedazzled, and feathered costumes. Smaller parades known as "blocos" take place in urban neighborhoods and smaller cities throughout the season.
In the United States, the most outlandish Mardi Gras season happens in New Orleans, and its various parades and masquerade balls are put on by secret societies and social organizations known as "krewes." Since the early 19th century, Carnival in NOLA has been known for frolicking, mischief, heavy drinking, singing, dancing, cross-dressing, half-human half-animal costumes, and masks—which range from whimsical and fantastic to grotesque to diabolic. The traditional colors of Mardi Gras in New Orleans are green, gold, and purple, as decreed by the Rex krewe in 1873. In the spirit of joie de vivre, the streets are filled with music, including brass-band Dixieland jazz, Cajun and zydeco, rhythm-and-blues, and Afro-Caribbean drum beats.
Among the earliest krewes in NOLA are the Mistick Krewe of Comus, the Krewe of Proteus, Rex, Twelfth Night Revelers, and Knights of Momus. Today, 1,000-plus member clubs known as "super krewes," such as the Krewe of Endymion, the Krewe of Bacchus, and the Zulu Social Aid and Pleasure Club, host huge parades and parties. From their floats, krewe members throw out beads, decorated "throw cups," Moon Pies, small toys, lingerie, and doubloons—aluminum or wooden coins featuring the krewe logo. Up until the 1960s, the beads were made of Czech glass, since then, they have been made of metallic plastic. (Female tourists who come to Bourbon Street in the French Quarter for Mardi Gras are known to expose their breasts in exchange for these beads.) During the parade, the Zulu will hand out coveted painted coconuts. So-called "Mardi Gras Indians" are African Americans organized into 38 "tribes" who march in parades wearing heavy suits inspired by Native American regalia.
Every year, each krewe, or social club, hosts its own invitation-only ball naming an unmarried woman between the ages of 18 and 21 its Queen and an older man in the club the King, along with a "court of maids" between the ages of 16 and 21. The mostly white Rex and mostly black Zulu krewes host the two main parades celebrating such Kings and Queens. Many white krewes have a history of racial exclusion, and when such discrimination was outlawed in the 1990s, several krewes, including Comus and Momus, refused to parade, claiming that revealing their secret member lists would be an invasion of privacy. Mardi Gras officially ends when Rex and His Royal Consort—the official King and Queen of Carnival—meet Comus and his Queen at the ball of the Mistick Krewe of Comus.
In smaller, rural Cajun towns in southern Louisiana, processions known as Courir de Mardi Gras take place on Fat Tuesday. Another Mardi Gras tradition is the colorful "king cake," made of frosted and braided brioche dough with a small plastic baby baked inside. The person who finds the baby in their slice is expected to host the next Carnival party of the season—or at least provide the cake.
Continue readingMardi Gras is technically "Fat Tuesday" or "Shrove Tuesday," or the last day of the Carnival season (also spelled "Carnaval" or "Carnevale"). In Catholicism, the weeks-long festival of Carnival begins on the Christian holiday known as Epiphany, or Three Kings Day, the day the wise men called Magi were believed to have visited the Christ child, also known as "The Twelfth Day of Christmas," on January 6. Carnival events happen every weekend until the last 3-12 days before Ash Wednesday, when the celebration frequency ramps up to daily. Lent, when Catholics start 40 days of penitence before Easter, begins on Ash Wednesday.
Carnival is a time of indulging in rich, fatty foods, alcohol, revelry, and other desires; it's followed by Lent, a time of restraint, fasting, abstaining from sex, and repentance. It has been suggested that Mardi Gras evolved from hedonistic ancient Roman or pagan festivals that celebrated fertility and rebirth such as Saturnalia and Lupercalia, but scholars now question those associations. Anthropologists consider Carnival a "reversal ritual" in which social mores are suspended or turned upside down for a short time—the intent is to prove why such rules are needed.
Carnival is thought to have originated around Venice, Italy, in the Middle Ages, but it was outlawed in the republic entirely in 1797, despite having spread by then across Europe and to North and Latin America. The Venetian Carnival traditions re-emerged quietly at private, artistic parties in the 19th century, and were only officially reinstated in 1979.
Elaborate masks have always been an important part of Venetian Carnival; the anonymity allowed people to flout the normally unyielding rules of class hierarchy in the republic, particularly around attire. Many of the masks were based on stock characters from Commedia dell'arte such as Colombina, Pantalone, and Arlecchino (also known as "Harlequin"). Medieval Venetians got up to all sorts of debauchery during the festival:...
Mardi Gras is technically "Fat Tuesday" or "Shrove Tuesday," or the last day of the Carnival season (also spelled "Carnaval" or "Carnevale"). In Catholicism, the weeks-long festival of Carnival begins on the Christian holiday known as Epiphany, or Three Kings Day, the day the wise men called Magi were believed to have visited the Christ child, also known as "The Twelfth Day of Christmas," on January 6. Carnival events happen every weekend until the last 3-12 days before Ash Wednesday, when the celebration frequency ramps up to daily. Lent, when Catholics start 40 days of penitence before Easter, begins on Ash Wednesday.
Carnival is a time of indulging in rich, fatty foods, alcohol, revelry, and other desires; it's followed by Lent, a time of restraint, fasting, abstaining from sex, and repentance. It has been suggested that Mardi Gras evolved from hedonistic ancient Roman or pagan festivals that celebrated fertility and rebirth such as Saturnalia and Lupercalia, but scholars now question those associations. Anthropologists consider Carnival a "reversal ritual" in which social mores are suspended or turned upside down for a short time—the intent is to prove why such rules are needed.
Carnival is thought to have originated around Venice, Italy, in the Middle Ages, but it was outlawed in the republic entirely in 1797, despite having spread by then across Europe and to North and Latin America. The Venetian Carnival traditions re-emerged quietly at private, artistic parties in the 19th century, and were only officially reinstated in 1979.
Elaborate masks have always been an important part of Venetian Carnival; the anonymity allowed people to flout the normally unyielding rules of class hierarchy in the republic, particularly around attire. Many of the masks were based on stock characters from Commedia dell'arte such as Colombina, Pantalone, and Arlecchino (also known as "Harlequin"). Medieval Venetians got up to all sorts of debauchery during the festival: Young men would throw eggshells filled with perfume (or ink) at the women they liked; others indulged in gambling.
Brazil is known for its elaborate Carnival celebrations—particularly in Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, and Vitória—where samba schools put on huge parades reveling in Afro-Brazilian culture with brightly colored, bedazzled, and feathered costumes. Smaller parades known as "blocos" take place in urban neighborhoods and smaller cities throughout the season.
In the United States, the most outlandish Mardi Gras season happens in New Orleans, and its various parades and masquerade balls are put on by secret societies and social organizations known as "krewes." Since the early 19th century, Carnival in NOLA has been known for frolicking, mischief, heavy drinking, singing, dancing, cross-dressing, half-human half-animal costumes, and masks—which range from whimsical and fantastic to grotesque to diabolic. The traditional colors of Mardi Gras in New Orleans are green, gold, and purple, as decreed by the Rex krewe in 1873. In the spirit of joie de vivre, the streets are filled with music, including brass-band Dixieland jazz, Cajun and zydeco, rhythm-and-blues, and Afro-Caribbean drum beats.
Among the earliest krewes in NOLA are the Mistick Krewe of Comus, the Krewe of Proteus, Rex, Twelfth Night Revelers, and Knights of Momus. Today, 1,000-plus member clubs known as "super krewes," such as the Krewe of Endymion, the Krewe of Bacchus, and the Zulu Social Aid and Pleasure Club, host huge parades and parties. From their floats, krewe members throw out beads, decorated "throw cups," Moon Pies, small toys, lingerie, and doubloons—aluminum or wooden coins featuring the krewe logo. Up until the 1960s, the beads were made of Czech glass, since then, they have been made of metallic plastic. (Female tourists who come to Bourbon Street in the French Quarter for Mardi Gras are known to expose their breasts in exchange for these beads.) During the parade, the Zulu will hand out coveted painted coconuts. So-called "Mardi Gras Indians" are African Americans organized into 38 "tribes" who march in parades wearing heavy suits inspired by Native American regalia.
Every year, each krewe, or social club, hosts its own invitation-only ball naming an unmarried woman between the ages of 18 and 21 its Queen and an older man in the club the King, along with a "court of maids" between the ages of 16 and 21. The mostly white Rex and mostly black Zulu krewes host the two main parades celebrating such Kings and Queens. Many white krewes have a history of racial exclusion, and when such discrimination was outlawed in the 1990s, several krewes, including Comus and Momus, refused to parade, claiming that revealing their secret member lists would be an invasion of privacy. Mardi Gras officially ends when Rex and His Royal Consort—the official King and Queen of Carnival—meet Comus and his Queen at the ball of the Mistick Krewe of Comus.
In smaller, rural Cajun towns in southern Louisiana, processions known as Courir de Mardi Gras take place on Fat Tuesday. Another Mardi Gras tradition is the colorful "king cake," made of frosted and braided brioche dough with a small plastic baby baked inside. The person who finds the baby in their slice is expected to host the next Carnival party of the season—or at least provide the cake.
Continue readingBest of the Web
![](https://d3h6k4kfl8m9p0.cloudfront.net/web-resources/american-package-museum.jpg)
American Package Museum
Ian House's gallery of early 20th Century American package designs. Browse the exhibits in slide...
![](https://d3h6k4kfl8m9p0.cloudfront.net/web-resources/ad-access.jpg)
Ad Access
Duke University's library has pulled together an impressive collection of over 7,000 ads printed...
Most Watched
ADX
Best of the Web
![](https://d3h6k4kfl8m9p0.cloudfront.net/web-resources/american-package-museum.jpg)
American Package Museum
Ian House's gallery of early 20th Century American package designs. Browse the exhibits in slide...
![](https://d3h6k4kfl8m9p0.cloudfront.net/web-resources/ad-access.jpg)
Ad Access
Duke University's library has pulled together an impressive collection of over 7,000 ads printed...
ADX
AD
X