New Orleans Voodoo
o
Throughout New Orleans one would be able to find
voodoo shops as a normal thing. Fortune tellers practice in or around these
shops. One souvenir that tourists are most likely to purchase from these shops
are voodoo dolls.
o
Visit Voodoo: A Longstanding Religious Practice
for information on this ever-popularized religious culture
Mardi Gras
o
This celebration is actually a Christian
holiday, celebrated the day before Lent.
o
The first ever Mardi Gras is believed to have
been celebrated way back in 1699 when French explorers first landed themselves
in New Orleans.
o
Mardi Gras = “Fat Tuesday” in French
o
Once Louisiana became a U.S. state in 1812,
Mardi Gras was graced as a legal holiday for that state.
o
Mardi Gras is celebrated for 12 days prior to
and leading up to Fat Tuesday. This celebration consists of parades, floats,
bands playing NOLA-customed music, elaborate masks, more beaded necklaces than
one can count, and the delicacy that is King’s Cake.
Watch this video to see how Mardi Gras is celebrated by millennials.
Jazz Funerals
o
With influences of customs of the African and
French cultures, these funerals are held to honor those who have passed in New
Orleans as a means to help the deceased find their ascent to heaven.
o
A jazz funeral is most honored in New Orleans as
they are performed for those that are influential to the city: police officers,
well-respected musicians, and other respectable persons of the city
o
The typical jazz funeral would begin at the home
of the deceased to their church or the chosen funeral home. The casket would be
carried by a horse-drawn hearse, accompanied by the somber hymns of a brass
band. After the memorial, the march would continue to the cemetery in the same
tone. Once the burial service is completed and/or the attendees of the funeral
were no longer at the church, the band wound signal the change of music to the
still-attending. After, the music would drastically change to the smashing of
tambourines and the banging of drums, allowing attendees to dance to the music
so as to release the mourning and begin the celebration that was the life of
the passed member. With this great parade, the group would then travel to the
area of the reception.
The Fleur-de-lis
·
Fleur-de-lis translates from French as “flower
of the lily”
·
Legend believes in two ideas of the symbol:
1.
An angel presented Clovis, the Merovingian king
of the Franks, with a lily in golden color to symbolize his purification upon
his conversion to Christianity.
2.
Clovis believed that waterlilies showed him how
to cross a river safely and to succeed in battle, thus he adopted the symbol.
·
History shows that in the 12th
century, King Louis VI (most believed) was the first French monarch to have the
fleur-de-lis upon his shield. Later, English kings displayed the symbol on
their coats of arms, emphasizing their claim to the throne of France. Upon the
14th century, the symbol was then incorporated into family insignias
that would be sewn onto knight surcoats.
·
The military has used the resemblance of the
symbol to a spearhead as a means to exemplify martial power and strength. It is
even used today in our own United States Army.
·
Religiously, the fleur-de-lis has been
represented in multiple forms:
·
As Joan of Arc led French troops to victory, she
carried a banner in which showed God blessing the royal emblem of the French.
·
The Roman Catholic Church referenced the lily as
an emblem for the Virgin Mary.
·
Because the fleur-de-lis has three “petals,” the
symbol has been used to represent the Holy Trinity.
·
The symbol has traditionally been presented for
French royalty to signify perfection, light, and life.
Information provided by Autumn Thomte
Works Cited
New Orleans Jazz Funeral Service Rituals.
Funeral Wise. https://www.funeralwise.com/customs/neworleans/.
Accessed January 2, 2017.
French History in
New Orleans. New Orleans Official Guide. http://www.neworleansonline.com/neworleans/multicultural/multiculturalhistory/french.html.
Accessed January 2, 2017.
The Fleur-de-lis In Heraldry and In
History. Fleur-de-lis
Designs. http://www.fleurdelis.com/fleur.htm. Accessed January 3, 2017.
No comments:
Post a Comment