Laissez les bons temps rouler! (Let the good times roll!)

On March 4th, the whole school celebrated Mardi Gras and Carnaval before transitioning to the solemn season of Lent. Students in French and Spanish learned about the holidays, created their own masks, and wore them while parading through the halls to the beat of French and Spanish songs. 

The tradition of celebrating Mardi Gras was brought to North America by French explorers in the 1700s, with the first major celebration taking place in Mobile, Alabama in 1703. La Nouvelle Orléans (New Orleans, Louisiana) was once the capital of the French colony La Nouvelle France and is now known to have the biggest Mardi Gras celebration in the United States. In our French classes, students learned about the history of the holiday, the customs and traditions, as well as the symbols and hallmarks. Students enjoyed king cakes, each of them hoping to find the little plastic baby and be crowned king or queen for the day. The baby in the cake symbolizes baby Jesus, who the three kings looked for after his birth, and the dessert is typical in France around Epiphany and in Louisiana for the whole season from Epiphany to Mardi Gras.

Mardi Gras is a lively franco-american holiday that provides an entrée into a part of French history that took place in the United States. Its incorporation into our curriculum shows just one of the ways we can have fun while teaching both language and culture!