“Even though we won't have parades, we will have the spirit of Mardi Gras.”
New Orleans Archbishop Gregory Aymond isn't losing the faith when it comes to Carnival 2021. The season is different, but we can keep the spirit going.
Archbishop Aymond chatted with Scoot about some of his childhood Mardi Gras memories and what he believes is the meaning of the season.
“My parents and my two sisters and actually our extended family – cousins and aunts and uncles – we would go down to what was called Lee Circle,” Aymond said. “We would go there every year; and, in fact, we went to all the parades there.
“One in particular I remember, especially reflecting upon the Mardi Gras that's coming up, it was freezing, freezing cold,” he continued. “But we were there, and we stayed the whole day. And we were Indians. We would always dress up, and I remember I was just so proud of my Indian outfit. I would walk up and down around Lee Circle to be able to see people in my Indian outfit. And those are the kind of childhood memories that I have.”
That familial aspect, the coming together of the whole community, is really what he loved.
“They were really family times,” Aymond said. “To get together with neighbors and to get together with family. I had fun doing that, running after the beads; and then, as I got older, I thought to myself, 'Why are we making so much commotion on catching these beads which aren't worth too much?' But we did it anyway because it was part of Mardi Gras.”
To him, that is what Carnival is all about.
“It's the spirit of Mardi Gras,” Aymond said. “There are things you can't really explain because it's the spirit of the event, and you can't really explain it. I remember sociologists reminding us that there's something about Mardi Gras that's very interesting. You have these people high on the floats, and you have these people throwing us little beads and coins like we're the poor people of this.
“And yet, you can't explain the mystery,” he went on. “It's fun. It's something, for those of us from New Orleans, we've grown up on and we enjoy; and it's a great opportunity to be able to just be with other people.”
Of course, that is not how Mardi Gras is always portrayed nationally. Aymond remembered being in Austin for one Mardi Gras season; and, from afar, one would not get the full, accurate picture.
“All they would show on national TV was whatever was going on on Bourbon Street – some of which was not so good,” Aymond said. “That's not the spirit of Mardi Gras. The spirit of Mardi Gras is really fun. It's sacred. It's family-oriented.”
He continued on that theme, talking about the sense of community and respect you usually see out on the parade routes.
“There's a sense – for the most part, we know there are events and mishaps, shootings and things – but, for the most part, there's a great respect for one another. It doesn't make any different what race you belong to, what ethnicity you belong to, whether you're rich or poor. We're all in it together, shoulder to shoulder. That's one of the things I'll miss this year.”
We cannot come together physically, but we can still keep the spirit alive and celebrate safely.