Abstract
In Basile, a small community in Southwest Louisiana, there would not be any Mardi Gras without Ash Wednesday and vice-versa. Most of the people in Basile speak of Ash Wednesday when defining the Mardi Gras. The condition in which they enter the Lenten season is based upon how they ran–that is to say, celebrated–Mardi Gras. It is often said: “If you run a good Mardi Gras, you will be ready for Lent.” There is a reciprocal spiritual relationship between Mardi Gras and Ash Wednesday. The people from Basile, therefore, in giving equal spiritual value to those two feasts, give a liturgical value to the Mardi Gras because they need, and will admit this freely, to have a good Mardi Gras in order to enter into the sacred season of Lent. This paper is based on the works of Ancelet, and LaDurie as well as hours of personal fieldwork in Southwest Louisiana.
Presenters
Luc GuglielmiFrench Program Coordinator, Interdisciplinary Studies/Foreign Languages, Kennesaw State University, Georgia, United States
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
Religious Community and Socialization
KEYWORDS
Folklore, Mardi Gras, Ash Wednesday, Catholic
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