The origins of Mardi Gras can be traced to medieval Europe , passing through Rome and Venice in the 17th and 18th centuries to the French House of the Bourbons. From here, the traditional revelry of "Boeuf Gras," or fatted calf, followed France to her colonies. Bienville also established "Fort Louis de la Louisiane" which is now Mobile in In , Mobile established a secret society Masque de la Mobile , similar to those that form our current Mardi Gras krewes.
It lasted until In , the "Boeuf Gras Society" was formed and paraded from through The procession was held with a huge bull's head pushed along on wheels by 16 men. Later, Rex would parade with an actual bull, draped in white and signaling the coming Lenten meat fast.
This occurred on Fat Tuesday. New Orleans was established in by Bienville. By the s, Mardi Gras was celebrated openly in New Orleans, but not with the parades we know today.
In the early s, Louisiana's governor, the Marquis de Vaudreuil, established elegant society balls, which became the model for the New Orleans Mardi Gras balls of today. The earliest reference to Mardi Gras "Carnival" appears in a report to the Spanish colonial governing body. By the late s, New Orleans held street processions of maskers with carriages and horseback riders to celebrate Mardi Gras.
Dazzling gaslight torches, or " flambeaux , " lit the way for the krewe's members and lent each event an exciting air of romance and festivity.
