The Secret Jewish history of Mardi Gras
At first glance, you won't find much Jewish about the holiday — but look a little closer
At first glance, you won't find much Jewish about the holiday — but look a little closer
Yesterday, UK-based Gay Times reported that MOGA, a Muslim-owned Melbourne brand that sells women’s headscarves and shawls, would be re-issuing their pro-LGBTQ rainbow-print scarf for Sydney, Austrailia’s annual Mardi Gras celebration. The Pride flag-esque hijab was created last year to support Australia’s legalization of same-sex marriage — legislation which Australia’s parliament overwhelmingly voted in favor…
The Rex parade entered the city at the port, the procession stepping from a lavishly decorated boat that drifted down the Mississippi and docked at the foot of Canal Street. It was afternoon on Mardi Gras Day, 1872. Historian Ned Sublette describes the scene in his history of the city, “The Year Before the Flood:…
1) Louisiana is home to 10,675 Jews, which is 0.2% of the state’s total population. 2) The first king of New Orleans’ popular Rex Carnival Mardi Gras parade in 1872 was Louis Solomon, a local businessman. 3) Judah Benjamin was a U.S. Senator from Louisiana from 1853 to 1861. After that, he became the Attorney…
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