Being a proud Cajun myself Mardi Gras is a wonderful time of celebration. Both sides of my family are from Louisiana. On my father's side, our ancestors came to Louisiana straight from Spain. I've often wondered why I feel a connection to Spain. I love the language, the culture, the beautiful scenery. I can't wait to visit there someday.
On my mother's side, my great-grandfather was a pilot in the military and after his service was satisfied, he opened an aviation business and limo service in New Orleans and it operated for many decades. He gave pilot lessons to thousands of people.
Have you ever been to New Orleans? Some consider it weird or gross, I consider it a wonderful part of our culture. The spirit, the celebrations, the music, the mixture of cultures, the magic, the street entertainers, the food, the whole embiance I consider to be very interesting.
I'm one of those people that like different. I like to study different cultures. I want to know why people believe in what they do and why they do what they do. I like to read about different religions. I wish I was a world traveler.
Now on to the history of Mardi Gras...
Most historians will say that ancient Romans probably kicked off the Mardi Gras celebrations. Their mid-February festival known as "Lupercalia" honored the god of Lupercus, alternately known as the god of fertility and the god of agriculture and pastoral shepherds. In either case, his party definitely had Mardi Gras-like qualities, including days of feasting and drinking. And a little enjoying the "pleasures of the flesh", probably too-- in fact, the term Carnival, often synonymous with Mardi Gras, is derived from the Latin expression meaning "farewell to the flesh."
Like most of the ancient Roman and Greek festivals, Lupercalia was adopted and adapted by the Church as a way of subtly converting the local pagans to Christianity. The carnival-like celebration of Lupercalia thus morphed into a last "fling" before the beginning of the Lenten period. lent refers to the 40 days of pertinence and purification celebrated between Ash Wednesday and Easter Sunday. During Lent, the religiously faithful refrain from a number of indulgences of the "flesh", including eating meat.
What began as a Roman- based celebration quickly spread across the European continent. By medieval times, lords were hosting carnivals prior to the Lent in honor of the conscription of their new knights. Each region and country celebrated their own traditions, but all were indulgent. In England, for example, pancake feasts were served-- a tradition that lasts until today. Shrove Tuesday, the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday, is widely known in the UK as "Pancake Tuesday" and is celebrated with pancake-eating competition and pancake races.
In France, this period of revelry before Lent was especially raucous. In fact, the term Mardi Gras is a French expression meaning "Fat Tuesday" -- likely referring to the indulgent nature of the pre-Lenten celebration. The name may have been more than just allegorical, however, ancient pagans often marked their fertility ritul by parading a fattened ox through the town before sacrificing it.
It was also the French who brought the celebration to America. Many historians believe the party crossed the Atlantic Ocean in 1699, on the ship of a French explorer named Sieur d'Iberville. The Frenchmen landed in what is today Louisiana, just south of New Orleans, the heart of America's modern-day Mardi Gras celebrations. In fact, his landing is believedto have coincided with the French celebration of Mardi Gras, explaining his choice for his point of entry: Point du Mardi Gras.
Other historians, however, dispute the d'Iberville connection, contending that it was the early French settlers to Louisiana who introduced Mardi Grasto America. Regardless of the precise origin, Mardi Gras can clearly be attributed to a Franco-influence. By the mid 1820s, Mardi Gras was firmly rooted in the New Orleans culture. Today, the city's celebrations are considered one of America's biggest parties, with towns and cities throughout the Gulf Coast Region getting in on the fun.
Now isn't that interesting?
Now the King Cake history has a slightly different twist to it. On the Christian calendar, the 12th day after Christmas is celebrated as the date that the gift-bearing Magi visited the baby Jesus. This day, January 6, is known by several names, including "Epiphany", "Twelfth Night", or "Kings Day". The celebration of this event has evolved over the centuries, with each culture adding its own unique rituals. The New Orleans tradition, borrowing heavily from European influences, is believed to have begun in the 1870's. As part of this celebration, it is now traditional to bake a cake in honor of the three kings - the King Cake. King Cakes are oval-shaped to symbolize the unity of faiths. Each cake is decorated in the traditional Mardi Gras colors - purple representing justice, green representing faith, and gold representing power. A small baby, symbolizing the baby Jesus, is traditionally hidden inside each King Cake.
King Cake Recipe
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 35 minutes
Ingredients:
- Filling:
- 4 ounces (half of a large block) cream cheese
- 1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 cup raisins, soaked in hot water for 15 minutes, drained, and patted dry on paper towels
- 1/2 cup pecan halves
- .
- Cake:
- 2 rolls (total of 12 individual crescent rolls) refrigerated crescent rolls in the can
- .
- Icing:
- 1-1/2 cups confectioners' sugar (powdered sugar)
- 3 to 4 Tablespoon (about) milk or cream
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- Purple, green, and yellow colored sugar crystals or food coloring
Preparation:
Place cream cheese, brown sugar, cinnamon, and raisins in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the metal blade. Process until combined. Add pecan halves and pulse until pecans are chopped to about 1/4-inch pieces. Set aside.
Preheat oven to 350 F. Spray a pizza pan or baking sheet with butter-flavored vegetable oil.
Unroll crescent roll dough and separate into triangles. Position triangles next to each other with the points toward the center, overlapping the long sides about 1/4-inch, forming a large round. Where the pieces overlap, press the seams together only in the center of each seam, leaving either ends of the seams unsealed so you can fold them up over the filling.
Spread the filling around in a ring covering the center sealed seam of each triangle.
Place a small plastic baby or dried bean somewhere in the filling. (The person who gets this piece will have good luck for the year.)
Fold the short side of each triangle toward the center just to the edge of the filling to cover. Then pull the point end of the triangles toward the outer rim of the pan to fully enclose the filling, tucking under the points. Lightly press the seams.
Bake 20 to 25 minutes until golden brown. Let cool to room temperature.
Whisk together the confectioners' sugar, milk or cream, and vanilla until smooth. The consistency should be fairly thick, but still thin enough to slowly drip down the sides. Add more milk as necessary. Spoon the icing in a ring over the top of the King Cake and allow it to slowly drip down the sides.
To decorate for Mardi Gras, sprinkle wide stripes of purple, green, and yellow colored sugar crystals.
Preheat oven to 350 F. Spray a pizza pan or baking sheet with butter-flavored vegetable oil.
Unroll crescent roll dough and separate into triangles. Position triangles next to each other with the points toward the center, overlapping the long sides about 1/4-inch, forming a large round. Where the pieces overlap, press the seams together only in the center of each seam, leaving either ends of the seams unsealed so you can fold them up over the filling.
Spread the filling around in a ring covering the center sealed seam of each triangle.
Place a small plastic baby or dried bean somewhere in the filling. (The person who gets this piece will have good luck for the year.)
Fold the short side of each triangle toward the center just to the edge of the filling to cover. Then pull the point end of the triangles toward the outer rim of the pan to fully enclose the filling, tucking under the points. Lightly press the seams.
Bake 20 to 25 minutes until golden brown. Let cool to room temperature.
Whisk together the confectioners' sugar, milk or cream, and vanilla until smooth. The consistency should be fairly thick, but still thin enough to slowly drip down the sides. Add more milk as necessary. Spoon the icing in a ring over the top of the King Cake and allow it to slowly drip down the sides.
To decorate for Mardi Gras, sprinkle wide stripes of purple, green, and yellow colored sugar crystals.
If you decide to make a King Cake, I want to see pictures!! Feel free to email them to me at kacijohnson@live.com and it might just show up on the blog along with mine!
Enjoy!
-Kaci
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