Like many of us “Floridians,” I was not actually born, nor did I grow up in Florida. Four years ago, I moved here from a part of southern Louisiana called Acadiana — and every year around this time I find myself yearning for a piece of King Cake, zydeco music, and of course, THE BEADS! But Mardi Gras is so much more than that, and as a true Cajun, I’m here to explain it all — or at least as much as I can fit in these pages.

MARDI GRAS KREWES

The first thing every Mardi Gras newbie must understand are Krewes — otherwise nothing else will make any sense. A Krewe is a social organization that works throughout the year to plan the balls and parades for Mardi Gras. Some krewes are more exclusive than others (some are even secret), but generally speaking there’s not a signup sheet in Jackson Square. Every year, each Krewe prepares a lavish ball during the Carnival season. The balls date back to the 1800s and were very private affairs. While today some hold invitation-only balls, many are now ticketed events open to the public.

THE COLORS

The traditional (and official) colors of Carnival are purple, green and gold. The colors were selected by Rex in 1872 to honor the visiting Russian Grand Duke Alexandrovich Romanoff, whose house colors were purple, green and gold. These royal colors are each symbolic: purple stands for justice, gold for power and green for faith.

THE KING CAKE

The tastiest part of Mardi Gras is the King Cake. Inspired by the European Epiphany Cakes eaten on the 12th day of Christmas, the King Cake an oval shaped coffee cake, braided and covered in icing and sugar the color of Mardi Gras: purple, green and gold. The King Cake became a solely New Orleans tradition when a local baker started baking baby Jesus trinkets into the cakes in the 1940s. King cake custom demands that whoever cuts the slice of cake that has the baby in it is king for the day — and also must purchase the next king cake.

THE BEADS

The beads, or “throws” as we call them, have been a tradition since the 1920s when Krewe of Rex and a few others began handing out tiny trinkets to the parade followers. Originally made of glass, the beads were thought to bring good luck to those who caught them. The more debaucherous practice associated with throwing beads can be traced back to the 1970s, coincidentally during the sexual revolution. The city estimates around 25 million pounds of beads get thrown into the streets each year!

THE MASKS

Masquerade balls were sweeping Europe when Mardi Gras came to the US in 1699 when the first American Mardi Gras ball was hosted by French explorers. Originally, masks were worn to allow people to "escape society and class constraints.” The tradition is so important to the culture of Mardi Gras that it is now required by law that all float riders wear a mask while parading. On Fat Tuesday, masking is legal for everyone else, and many people don elaborate costumes, wigs or masks to celebrate.

THE PARADES

By far my FAVORITE part of Mardi Gras are the parades! Mardi Gras floats come in large sizes and are outfitted with elaborate decorations including larger-than-life papier-mâché sculptures (called props), ornate hand-painted flowers, and flashing LED lights. Many of today’s floats are hand-painted by artists who work year-round designing and building the creations you see each year. A company called Kern Studios has been offering up their float-building services to Mardi Gras paradors since 1932. Some krewes have been known to spend over $200,000 on their floats each year!