Fat Tuesday

Hello and welcome to Mardi Gras!

Wearing masks bearing images of skeletons and Christian icons is a vital part of Mardi Gras in the city of New Orleans. This pre-Lenten festival is framed by the donning of original masks worn by people at masked balls, crew members in parades, tourists and partakers in the final crescendo known as Fat Tuesday.

This is a time when individuals hide behind masks to play out the final moments of fun and to bid farewell to the flesh before the penitence of Lent begins.

Masks have always possessed a certain air of mystery that has fascinated people for centuries. According to legend, masks were worn by ancient Greek actors in honor of Dionysus, god of theater and were quite large. Because the structures used to represent the plays were so colossal, masks bore exaggerated expressions in order to convey various emotions.

The traditional colors of Mardi Gras are purple symbolic of justice, green symbolic of faith and gold symbolic of power and are used to decorate carnival masks.

Jolly Jester

The Jolly Jester or Joker became popular during Medieval times. Jesters are typically portrayed with bright colors and eccentric hats in a motley pattern. The hat is sometimes referred to as “the cap n bells” and is depicted as a floppy hat with three points, each topped off with a jingle bell. The hat represents the ass’s ears and tail worn by jesters in earlier times.




Things that make the Jester unique: his insane laughter and his mock scepter, referred to as a bauble or maharoof



Author’s note: The Jolly Jester is a featured guest at the masquerade party in Mask of the Betrayer.



Sharon Donovan

Romantic Suspense with a Twist of Faith

www.sharonadonovan.com

sharonad@comcast.net



Mask of the Betrayer

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Whimsical Publications

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