by Barbara Anderson

Created on: February 17, 2009

All of us have come to associate certain colors with specific holiday celebrations. Red and green are the colors of Christmas. Bright emerald green represents St. Patrick's Day. The 4th of July is an explosion of red, white, and blue. Spooky black and orange decorations are everywhere on Halloween. During the week long celebration of Mardi Gras, the city of New Orleans, Louisiana, glows with the bright colors of purple, green and gold.

How these colors were selected to symbolize Mardi Gras in New Orleans is a very interesting story.

In 1872, Grand Duke Alexis Alexandrovitch Romanoff of Russia visited New Orleans, so the story goes, following Lydia Thompson, an British actress and dancer. The Duke had seen her perform at a New York burlesque show, and decided to visit New Orleans when he heard that she would be touring there.

In honor of the Duke's visit, a group of businessmen formed a new krewe, the Krewe of Rex, to host a special parade for the occasion. They appointed one of their members as Rex, the first King of Mardi Gras, and planned a royal reception for the King and the Duke. At the same time, another tradition also began with Duke Alexis' visit. The krewe asked the Duke to chose his favorite colors for the parade. And so, purple, green and gold, the colors of the House of Romanov, became the official colors of Mardi Gras.

Twenty years later, in the 1892 parade with the theme of "Symbolism of Colors", King Rex announced that the colors would have the following meanings: Purple stood for Justice, Green stood for Faith, and Gold stood for Power. Of course, since apparently no one recorded how Rex decided what the colors meant, we can only guess at his reasoning.

Purple - Justice

Purple is traditionally associated with royalty and is often worn by people of high rank or authority, including church leaders. Perhaps Rex chose it to represent justice because these officials are supposed to administer justice for the people.

Green - Faith

Green is the color of nature, representing growth and renewal. Perhaps Rex chose this to represent faith because Mardi Gras ends with the beginning of Lent, a period of spiritual growth and renewal of faith.

Gold - Power

Gold is the color of wealth, majesty and Divinity. It is commonly used in the Catholic faith for major holy days, especially Christmas and Easter. Perhaps Rex chose gold to symbolize the power of God.

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