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49-413: Big Easy Roller Derby was founded as Big Easy Rollergirls in the spring of 2005 and had planned their first bout during Mardi Gras 2006. Unfortunately, the league was disrupted by and had to regroup following the events surrounding Hurricane Katrina , beginning competitive play on September 16, 2006. After a citywide tryout, BERD had two teams and more than 30 active members its first season. The debut bout

98-485: A concert event at Caesars Superdome ), Bacchus (Sunday), and Zulu and Rex (Tuesday). Other cities along the Gulf Coast with early French colonial heritage, from Pensacola, Florida ; Galveston, Texas ; to Lake Charles and Lafayette, Louisiana ; and north to Natchez, Mississippi and Alexandria, Louisiana , have active Mardi Gras celebrations. Galveston's first recorded Mardi Gras celebration, in 1867, included

147-417: A deacon for the same offence. For stealing, Cummean prescribed that a layman shall do one year of penance; a cleric, two; a subdeacon three; a deacon, four; a priest, five; a bishop, six. The list of various penitential acts imposed on the sinner to ensure reparation included more or less rigorous fasts, prostrations, deprivation of things otherwise allowable; also alms, prayers, and pilgrimages. The duration

196-592: A grand gala. In the rural Acadiana area, many Cajuns celebrate with the Courir de Mardi Gras , a tradition that dates to medieval celebrations in France. St. Louis , Missouri , founded in 1764 by French fur traders, claims to host the second largest Mardi Gras celebration in the United States. The celebration is held in the historic French neighborhood, Soulard , and attracts hundreds of thousands of people from around

245-678: A list of sins and the appropriate penances prescribed for them, and served as a type of manual for confessors . The earliest important penitentials were those by the Irish abbots Cummean (who based his work on a sixth-century Celtic monastic text known as the Paenitentiale Ambrosianum ) and Columbanus , and the Archbishop of Canterbury , Theodore of Tarsus . Most later penitentials are based on theirs, rather than on earlier Roman texts. The number of Irish penitentials and their importance

294-520: A masked ball at Turner Hall (Sealy at 21st St.) and a theatrical performance from Shakespeare's "King Henry IV" featuring Alvan Reed (a justice of the peace weighing in at 350 pounds) as Falstaff. The first year that Mardi Gras was celebrated on a grand scale in Galveston was 1871 with the emergence of two rival Mardi Gras societies, or "Krewes" called the Knights of Momus (known only by the initials "K.O.M.") and

343-475: A non-profit corporation, but does not have 501(c)(3) status. The league changed their name from Big Easy Rollergirls to Big Easy Roller Derby in 2019. BERD has a partnership with Crescent City Crushers, the local junior roller derby league, to promote the sport locally. In October 2011, Big Easy were ranked number one by the Derby South organization, which represents leagues from five southern states. After

392-623: A parade, just tableau and ball. The Knights of Momus and Rex came about in 1872, with the last of the old-line krewes the Krewe of Proteus being formed 10 years later. Of these 5 groups only Rex and Proteus still formally parade, with the Knights of Chaos replacing Momus. The parades of the largest krewes (colloquially known as "super krewes") came later, during the 1960s/70's, and traditionally occur immediately prior to and on Shrove Tuesday, including those of Endymion (Saturday, which also culminates with

441-439: A penance, the penitent's strengths and weaknesses. Those who could not fast were obliged instead to recite daily a certain number of psalms, to give alms, or perform some other penitential exercise as determined by the confessor. Some penances could be commuted through payments or substitutions. While the sanctions in early penitentials, such as that of Gildas, were primarily acts of mortification or in some cases excommunication,

490-531: A specific racial/ethnic group or sexual minority , (week) = week-long holidays, (month) = month-long holidays, (36) = Title 36 Observances and Ceremonies Penitential A penitential is a book or set of church rules concerning the Christian sacrament of penance , a "new manner of reconciliation with God " that was first developed by Celtic monks in Ireland in the sixth century AD. It consisted of

539-661: A two-team structure: The Big Easy Allstars (A team) and the Crescent Wenches (B team). The Marigny Antoinettes are now the incoming year's "Fresh Meat", and the StoryVillains are the recreational team composed of retired Big Easy Roller Derby skaters. The Big Easy Roller Derby organization has continued to grow and evolve, maintaining a rigorous athletic training regimen (both on skates and off) while regularly contributing to community-service–oriented efforts around New Orleans. Charities and organizations BERD has worked with include

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588-499: Is an important celebration in Lutheran , Anglican and Catholic European nations. The three-day Carnival of Binche , near Mons , is one of the best known in Belgium. It takes place around Shrove Tuesday (or Mardi Gras) just before Lent . Performers known as Gilles wear elaborate costumes in the national colours of red, black and yellow. During the parade, they throw oranges at

637-536: Is cited as evidence of the particular strictness of the Irish spirituality of the seventh century. Walter J. Woods holds that "over time the penitential books helped suppress homicide, personal violence, theft, and other offences that damaged the community and made the offender a target for revenge." According to Thomas Pollock Oakley, the penitential guides first developed in Wales, probably at St. David's , and spread by missions to Ireland. They were brought to Britain with

686-591: Is filled with large banquets held by the various organizing societies and generally comes to a climax beginning on what is variously known as Schmutziger Donnerstag or Fetter Donnerstag ( Fat Thursday ), Unsinniger Donnerstag (Nonsense Thursday), Altweiberfastnacht , Greesentag and others. In standard German , schmutzig means "dirty", but in the Alemannic dialects schmotzig means "lard" ( Schmalz ), or "fat"; thus "Greasy Thursday", as remaining winter stores of lard and butter used to be consumed at that time, before

735-474: Is recorded to have taken place in 1833 with Bernard de Marigny funding the first organized parade, tableau, and ball. The tradition in New Orleans expanded to the point that it became synonymous with the city in popular perception, and embraced by residents of New Orleans beyond those of French or Catholic heritage. Mardi Gras celebrations are part of the basis of the slogan Laissez les bons temps rouler ("Let

784-518: Is the final day of Carnival (also known as Shrovetide or Fastelavn ); it thus falls on the day before the beginning of Lent on Ash Wednesday . Mardi Gras is French for " Fat Tuesday ", reflecting the practice of the last night of consuming rich, fatty foods in preparation for the Christian fasting season of Lent , during which the consumption of such foods is avoided. Related popular practices are associated with Carnival celebrations before

833-563: The Hiberno-Scottish mission and were introduced to the Continent by Irish and Anglo-Saxon missionaries. As priests heard confessions , they began to compile unofficial handbooks that dealt with the most confessed sins and wrote down set penances for those sins. Penances would vary given both the severity of the offence and the status of the sinner; such that the penance imposed on a bishop would generally be more severe than that imposed on

882-830: The Slaughter, Louisiana Volunteer Fire Department, Arabi Wrecking Krewe, New Orleans City Park , Sydney and Walda Besthoff Sculpture Garden, NO AIDS Task Force, Common Ground Collective , KaBOOM! , KIDsmART and the Louisiana SPCA. Big Easy Roller Derby are a diverse group of female athletes, ranging in age from the twenty-one to over fifty. By day, they are dental hygienists, community college students, teachers, lawyers, stay-at-home-mothers, and waitresses. For their first two seasons, home bouts were held at Blaine Kern's Mardi Gras World in Algiers, New Orleans . The league currently holds their home bouts before large crowds (400 - 600 attendees) at

931-613: The UNESCO World Intangible Cultural Heritage List . The celebration on the same day in Germany knows many different terms, depending on the region, such as Fastnacht , meaning the eve of the fast that takes place during Lent, or Veilchensdienstag (Violet Tuesday), as it is called in the Lower Rhine region. The celebrations often stretch from Epiphany, known in sections of Germany as Heilige Drei Könige, through

980-492: The University of New Orleans Human Performance Center. Voted “Best Local Sports Team" by local magazine Where Y’at in their first season, the league's mission continues to be to encourage and empower women through the sport of flat-track roller derby. In doing so they provide alternative athletic entertainment while supporting charitable organizations that benefit the community at large. In 2011, BERD converted from an LLC to

1029-506: The 2013 season, they were ranked 93 in the world by the WFTDA. In 2014, Big Easy made their first appearance at WFTDA Division 2 Playoffs, coming into the Duluth tournament as the third seed, and ultimately finishing in fourth place. Mardi Gras Mardi Gras ( UK : / ˌ m ɑːr d i ˈ ɡ r ɑː / , US : / ˈ m ɑːr d i ɡ r ɑː / ; also known as Shrove Tuesday )

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1078-468: The Knights of Myth, both of which devised night parades, masked balls, exquisite costumes and elaborate invitations. The Knights of Momus, led by some prominent Galvestonians, decorated horse-drawn wagons for a torch lit night parade. Boasting such themes as "The Crusades", "Peter the Great", and "Ancient France", the procession through downtown Galveston culminated at Turner Hall with a presentation of tableaux and

1127-406: The allowance of one vegetarian meal and water after sunset. The tradition of pancake breakfasts during Shrovetide, as well as that of pancake races, owes itself to this practice of "using up the surplus eggs, milk and butter" prior to Lent. In many Christian parish churches, both Protestant and Roman Catholic, a popular Shrove Tuesday tradition is the ringing of the church bells (on this day,

1176-597: The country have notable celebrations. Mardi Gras arrived in North America as a French Catholic tradition with the Le Moyne brothers, Pierre Le Moyne d'Iberville and Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville , in the late 17th century, when King Louis XIV sent the pair to defend France's claim on the territory of Louisiane , which included what are now the U.S. states of Alabama , Mississippi , Louisiana and part of eastern Texas . The expedition, led by Iberville, entered

1225-454: The country. Although founded in the 1760s, the St. Louis Mardi Gras festivities only date to the 1980s. The city's celebration begins with "12th night," held on Epiphany, and ends on Fat Tuesday. The season is peppered with various parades celebrating the city's rich French Catholic heritage. Mardi Gras, as a celebration of life before the more-somber occasion of Ash Wednesday, nearly always involves

1274-601: The crowd. In 2003, it was recognized by UNESCO as one of the Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity . In the Czech Republic , it is a folk tradition to celebrate Mardi Gras, which is called Masopust (meat-fast, i.e. beginning of the fast there). There are celebrations in many places including Prague , but the tradition also prevails in villages such as Staré Hamry , whose door-to-door processions made it to

1323-576: The fasting and religious obligations associated with the penitential season of Lent. In countries such as the United Kingdom , Mardi Gras is more usually known as Pancake Day or (traditionally) Shrove Tuesday, derived from the word shrive , meaning "to administer the sacrament of confession to; to absolve". During the liturgical season of Lent, some Christians abstain from the consumption of certain foods such as meat, eggs, dairy products, and alcoholic beverages. Most Christian denominations observe

1372-477: The fasting began. Altweiberfastnacht often featured women wearing men's clothing and assuming their roles. In many towns across the state of North Rhine Westphalia, a ritual "takeover" of the town halls by local women has become tradition. In Italy Mardi Gras is called Martedì Grasso (Fat Tuesday). It is the main day of Carnival along with the Thursday before, called Giovedí Grasso (Fat Thursday), which ratifies

1421-409: The festival is spelled Carnevale. In Sweden the celebration is called Fettisdagen, when fastlagsbulle is eaten, more commonly called Semla . The name comes from the words "fett" (fat) and "tisdag" (Tuesday). Originally, this was the only day one should eat fastlagsbullar . While not observed nationally throughout the United States, a number of historically ethnically French cities and regions in

1470-559: The final three-day period before Ash Wednesday as the Mardi Gras. In Mobile, Alabama , Mardi Gras– associated social events begin in November , followed by mystic society balls New Year's Eve, followed by parades and balls in January and February, celebrating up to midnight before Ash Wednesday . In earlier times, parades were held on New Year's Day. Carnival (or Fastelavn or Shrovetide )

1519-490: The good times roll"), as floats "roll." Festivities formally began in 1853 when a group of Protestant Anglo-Americans , some members of Mobile Mystic Societies , formed the first "old-line" krewe, The Mistick Krewe of Comus , based on Bernard de Marigny 's 1833 parade of paper-mached wagons, a formal tableau vivant and presentation of debutants, followed by a formal ball . The Twelfth Night Revelers were formed in 1870, again with ties to Mobile , but no longer stage

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1568-451: The idea that whole communities, from top to bottom, richest to poorest, submitted to the same form of ecclesiastical discipline is itself misleading. For example, meat was a rarity in the diet of the poor, with or without the imposition of ecclesiastical fasts. In addition, the system of public penance was not replaced by private penance; the penitentials themselves refer to public penitential ceremonies. The Council of Paris of 829 condemned

1617-438: The inclusion of fines in later compilations derive from secular law, and indicate a church becoming assimilated into the larger society. The connection with the principles embodied in law codes, which were largely composed of schedules of wergeld or compensation, are evident. "Recidivism was always possible, and the commutation of sentence by payment of cash perpetuated the notion that salvation could be bought". Commutations and

1666-439: The intersection of ecclesiastical penance with secular law both differed from locality to locality. Nor were commutations restricted to financial payments: extreme fasts and recitation of large numbers of psalms could also commute penances; the system of commutation did not reinforce commonplace connections between poverty and sinfulness, even though it favoured people of means and education over those without such advantages. But

1715-630: The like, though death may be a theme in some. The Venice tradition has brought golden masks into the usual round of costumes. Although the Church teaches that it is sinful and that it contravenes the Christian standards of modesty , the practice of some women exposing their breasts during Mardi Gras in New Orleans , US, has been documented since 1889, when the Times-Democrat decried the "degree of immodesty exhibited by nearly all female masqueraders seen on

1764-508: The mouth of the Mississippi River on the evening of 2 March 1699 (new style), Lundi Gras . They did not yet know it was the river explored and claimed for France by René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle in 1683. The party proceeded upstream to a place on the east bank about 60 miles (100 km) downriver from where New Orleans is today, and made camp. This was on 3 March 1699, Mardi Gras, so in honour of this holiday, Iberville named

1813-595: The night before Ash Wednesday, and is variously known by different names, such as Karneval or Fasching in Germany, Austria and German-speaking areas of Switzerland. It is also often referred to as the "fifth season", which traditionally begins with Hoppeditz Erwachen (the waking of Hoppeditz, the Fool who embodies the Karneval season) on 11 November at 11:11 AM (11/11 11:11). and ends with his comic funeral mass on Fastnacht. Karneval

1862-521: The penitentials and ordered all of them to be burnt . In practice, a penitential remained one of the few books that a country priest might have possessed. Some argue that the last penitential was composed by Alain de Lille , in 1180. The objections of the Council of Paris concerned penitentials of uncertain authorship or origin. Penitentials continued to be written, edited, adapted, and, in England, translated into

1911-483: The rich foods before Lent" in order to prepare for the coming season of repentance. The festival season varies from city to city; Mardis Gras often refers to the last day of Shrovetide (or Fastelavn or Carnival), thus being synonymous with Shrove Tuesday . Some traditions, such as the one in New Orleans , Louisiana , consider Mardi Gras to stretch the entire period from Twelfth Night (the last night of Christmas which begins Epiphany ) to Ash Wednesday. Others treat

1960-441: The sinner—as well as his or her social status was fundamental to the process. Moreover, some penitentials instructed the priest to ascertain the sinner's sincerity by observing posture and tone of voice. Penitentials were soon compiled with the authorization of bishops concerned with enforcing uniform disciplinary standards within a given district. The Penitential of Cummean counselled a priest to take into consideration in imposing

2009-472: The spot Point du Mardi Gras (French: "Mardi Gras Point") and called the nearby tributary Bayou Mardi Gras. Bienville went on to found the settlement of Mobile, Alabama in 1702 as the first capital of French Louisiana. In 1703 French settlers in Mobile established the first organised Mardi Gras celebration tradition in what was to become the United States. The first informal mystic society , or krewe ,

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2058-555: The start of the celebrations. The most famous Carnivals in northern Italy are in Venice, Viareggio and Ivrea, while in the southern part of Italy the Sardinian Sartiglia and the intriguing apotropaic masks, especially the mamuthones, issohadores, s'urtzu (and so on), are more popular, belonging to a very ancient tradition. Ivrea has the characteristic " Battle of Oranges " that finds its roots in medieval times. The Italian version of

2107-801: The streets." The practice was mostly limited to tourists in the upper Bourbon Street area. In the crowded streets of the French Quarter, generally avoided by locals on Mardi Gras Day, flashers on balconies cause crowds to form on the streets. In the last decades of the 20th century, the rise in producing commercial videotapes catering to voyeurs helped encourage a tradition of women baring their breasts in exchange for beads and trinkets. Social scientists studying "ritual disrobement" found, at Mardi Gras 1991, 1,200 instances of body-baring in exchange for beads or other favors. (federal) = federal holidays, (abbreviation) = state/territorial holidays, (religious) = religious holidays, (cultural) = holiday related to

2156-499: The toll is known as the Shriving Bell) "to call the faithful to confession before the solemn season of Lent" and for people to "begin frying their pancakes". As such, a hallmark of Shrovetide is the opportunity for a last round of merrymaking associated with Mardis Gras before the start of the somber Lenten season. The last day of Shrovetide, Mardi Gras (Fat Tuesday), is named as such "because people felt bloated having eaten up all

2205-524: The tradition of Lent; exceptions include many churches within the Anabaptist , Baptist , Methodist , and Reformed traditions. Shrovetide provided Christians with the opportunity to use up these foods prior to the start of the 40-day fasting season of Lent. Prior to the 6th century, Lent was normatively observed through the practice of the Black Fast , which enjoins fasting from food and liquids, with

2254-515: The use of masks and costumes by its participants, and the most popular celebratory colors are purple, green, and gold. In New Orleans, for example, these often take the shape of fairies, animals, people from myths, or various Medieval costumes as well as clowns and Indians ( Native Americans ). Many costumes today are simply elaborate creations of colored feathers and capes. Unlike Halloween costumery, Mardi Gras costumes are not usually associated with such things as zombies, mummies, bats, blood, and

2303-620: Was formed in Mobile in 1711, the Boeuf Gras Society . Then came the Striker's Independent Society in 1842, followed by the oldest parading mystic society the Order of Myths or "OOMs" in 1867. In 1720, Biloxi had been made capital of Louisiana. The French Mardi Gras customs had accompanied the colonists who settled there. In 1723, the capital of Louisiana was moved to New Orleans , founded in 1718. The first Mardi Gras parade held in New Orleans

2352-589: Was specified in days, quarantines, or years. Gildas lists the penance for an inebriated monk, "If any one because of drunkenness is unable to sing the Psalms, being stupefied and without speech, he is deprived of dinner." The penitentials advised the confessor to inquire into the sinner's state of mind and social condition. The priest was told to ask if the sinner before him was rich or poor; educated; ill; young or old; to ask if he or she had sinned voluntarily or involuntarily, and so forth. The spiritual and mental state of

2401-537: Was won by the Hor-Nots (v the 'Aints) 128–123 in overtime before a sellout crowd. In their second season, Big Easy Roller Derby doubled their membership with new recruits and was able to field four local teams: Confederacy of Punches, Crescent Wenches, Marigny Antoinettes, and StoryVillains, as well as a travel team, the Big Easy Roller Derby Allstars. By the fourth season, Big Easy Roller Derby switched to

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