Our Mardi Gras Party

Here are some pictures from our Mardi Gras Party. It was a wild one! We didn't get a chance to try out the Mardi Gras bead dough because Braydon wasn't feeling well, but we will in the future. I hope you all had a great Fat Tuesday as well!

Our table decorations. We decorated the masks we printed with ribbon and used Easter grass and purple flowers for something extra.

We tied paper napkins with scrap purple and green ribbon.

One of our masks.

Another flower arrangement.

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All of us enjoying stuffed Bell Peppers. Not traditional Mardi Gras food but what my Dad, the Birthday Boy, requested.

My attempt at a King Cake. It was delicious. We hid a peanut instead of a plastic baby. No one found it. I guess I'm hosting again next year :)

My Dad blowing out the candles on the King Cake. Kind of  blurry.

Here is some history behind the Mardi Gras Colors and the King Cake.
Here is the website I found the information from:
http://www.mardigrasneworleans.com/kingcakes.html
http://www.mardigrasneworleans.com/mgcolors.html

The Meaning and Origin of Purple, Green, and Gold in Mardi Gras

Rex selected the official Mardi Gras colors in 1872. The 1892 Rex Parade theme Symbolism of Colors gave meaning to the colors: purple represents justice; green, faith; and gold, power.
It's interesting to note that our Mardi Gras colors influenced the choice of school colors for arch rivals Louisiana State University and Tulane University.
When LSU was deciding on its colors, the shops in New Orleans had stocked up on purple, green, and gold material for the Mardi Gras season. LSU decided upon purple and gold, and bought much of it. Tulane bought much of the only remaining color -- green! (Their colors are blue and green.)
Remember to wear the Mardi Gras colors of purple, green and gold during Mardi Gras whenever you're not in costume!

MARDI GRAS KING CAKES

History behind the King Cake...
As part of our Christian faith, the coming of the wise men bearing gifts to the Christ Child is celebrated twelve days after Christmas. We refer to this as the Feast of the Epiphany or Little Christmas on the Twelfth Night. This is a time of celebration, exchanging gifts and feasting. Today, the tradition continues as people all over the world gather for festive Twelfth Night celebrations. A popular custom was and still is the baking of a special cake in honor of the three kings called "A King's Cake."
Inside every cake is a tiny baby (generally plastic now, but sometimes this baby might be made of porcelain or even gold). The tradition of having King Cake Parties has evolved through time, and the person who receives the slice of cake with the baby is asked to continue the festivities by hosting the next King Cake party.
Originally, King Cakes were a simple ring of dough with a small amount of decoration. Today's King Cakes are much more festive. After the rich Danish dough is braided and baked, the "baby" is inserted. The top of the ring or oval cake is then covered with delicious sugar toppings in the traditional Mardi Gras colors of purple, green and gold.
In more recent years, some bakeries have been creative with stuffing and topping their cakes with different flavors of cream cheese and fruit fillings.
January 6, the Twelfth Night after Christmas, is also the day our Mardi Gras season begins. Mardi Gras Day is always 47 days prior to Easter Sunday (Fat Tuesday is always the day before Ash Wednesday).
So, in Louisiana especially, Mardi Gras season and King Cakes go hand in hand with literally hundreds of thousands of King Cakes consumed at parties and office lunch rooms every year.
Ordering King Cakes over the internet has now become an annual tradition by consumers all around the world - and many of our bakers offer them year round. After all, you can't have a Mardi Gras party without a King Cake!