|
<<
HOMEPAGE
A
BRIEF HISTORY OF THE KREWE OF JANUS
The
Krewe of Janus was established in 1984. It was organized
by the Twin Cities’ Jaycees and became an independent
organization in 1989. Since the first year when crowds
were estimated at 35,000, the Krewe of Janus Mardi Gras
parade had grown to include over 100 units and an estimated
crowd of 80,000 people in 1993. In 1994, in an attempt
to upgrade the parade and have more control, the Krewe
downsized the parade entries to include only floats
and marching units. That year, there were more than
50 floats and the crowd was approximately 90,000. During
our parade in 2003, the crowd numbered approximately
150,000 people. In addition to the main parade that
travels through both Monroe and West Monroe, we organized
for nine years, a children’s Mini-Parade in the Pecanland
Mall. Each year the Krewe of Janus has TV celebrities
or outstanding members of our local community as the
Grand Marshal of the parade.
The
Grand Marshals of the past are listed later in the manual.
The Twin Cities’ Krewe of Janus has several activities
throughout the year. Typically, the Mardi Gras season
is six weeks long; however, the Krewe of Janus celebrates
year round.
Mardi
Gras can occur on any Tuesday from February 3 through
March 9. The fluctuating date was established by the
Catholic Church which designed the Gregorian calendar
with a fixed date for Christmas, but with moveable dates
for other religious holidays. Easter can fall on any
Sunday from March 23 to April 25, and its exact date
was set to coincide with the first Sunday after the
full moon that follows the Spring Equinox. Mardi Gras
is always scheduled 47 days preceding Easter (the 40
days of Lent, plus six Sundays). Since Rex, the King
of Carnival, selected them in 1872, the official colors
of Mardi Gras have been purple, green, and gold. While
they were probably chosen simply because they looked
good together, Rex assigned a meaning to each in his
1892 parade entitled, Symbolism of Colors: purple represents
justice, green stands for faith, and gold signifies
power. There is no general theme for Mardi Gras, but
each individual parade depicts a specific subject. The
floats then reflect the Krewe's theme for that year.
The themes depicted by the nearly 1,900 Mardi Gras parades
staged in New Orleans since 1857 have ranged from the
ridiculous to the sublime. Among the more popular subjects
have been history, children's stories, legends, geography,
famous people, entertainment, mythology, and literature.
The colorful worlds of Greek, Roman and Egyptian mythology
are the sources of nearly half of the area's Krewe names.
Some clubs are named after the neighborhood through
which they travel, while others are named after historical
figures or places. Almost all Carnival parades follow
a standard parade format, normally with the captain
appearing at the head of the procession, either on a
special float, in a convertible or on horseback. Next
come the officers, the king or queen, and in some parades,
the maids and dukes, followed by the title float and
the floats that carry riding members. An 18-float procession
of a 200 member Krewe may feature more than 75 units.
When band members, dance groups, posses, clown units
and motorcycle squadrons are all added up, it is not
uncommon for the number of participants to total more
than 3,000. Baubles have been tossed off floats since
at least 1871 when a masker costumed as Santa Claus
aboard float No. 24 in the Twelfth Night Revelers parade
dispensed gifts to the crowd. Super-Krewes such as Bacchus,
Endymion and Orpheus, scheduled for three days before
Fat Tuesday, feature a combined total of 110 floats,
90 marching bands, and more than 350 units. Their collective
3,500 members toss more than 2 million cups, 3.5 million
doubloons and 350,000 gross of beads. They also annually
invite guest celebrities to ride in their parades. Some
of the more popular stars to have appeared are Bob Hope,
Dolly Parton, Wayne Newton, John Goodman, Jackie Gleason,
Dennis Quaid, Kirk Douglas, Harry Connick, Jr. and the
Beach Boys.
Janus
Janus
is the Roman god of gates and door, beginnings and endings,
and hence represented with a double-faced head, each
looking in opposite directions. He was worshiped at
the beginning of the harvest time, planting, marriage,
birth, and other types of beginnings, especially the
beginnings of important events in a person's life. Janus
also represents the transition between primitive life
and civilization, between the countryside and the city,
peace and war, and the growing-up of young people. The
month of January (the eleventh Roman month) is named
after him. Janus was represented with two faces; originally
one face was bearded while the other was not (probably
a symbol of the sun and the moon). Later both faces
were bearded. In his right hand he holds a key. The
double-faced head appears on many Roman coins, and around
the 2nd century BC even with four faces.
For
more information, click here
<<
HOMEPAGE
|
