What Do the Colors of Mardi Gras Beads Mean?

The official colors of Mardi Gras are purple, gold, and green and for whatever reason are usually recited in that order. How those colors were chosen and their significance is a tale of legend and fiat. At the time they were adopted as the formal colors in the late 19th century, they were believed to represent royalty.

Getting Right to the Point in a Roundabout Way

Purple, gold, and green remain the colors of the festival due largely to the Grand Duke Alexis Romanoff of Russia, who was crowned the "King of the Carnival" during a visit to New Orleans in 1872. Rex, as he came to be known, adopted the colors of the carnival because he believed they were of royal distinction. Purple represents justice, green represents faith, and gold stands for power. How those colors came to represent the principles they supposedly embody is anyone's guess except to him.

The Beads and Their Significance

When King Rex headed the parade, he threw doubloons to the throngs along the route. That became a rather expensive practice over the years and the coinage was replaced by beads and other trinkets bearing different colors. Contrary to popular conception, you don't have to bare your breasts to receive what are now baubles but the color of the string of beads is thrown to recipients presumably with the intention of rewarding an act for which the colors represent--justice, faith, or power. In most cases, the color of the beads represents little of the original intent. However, in some cases the krewes (individual clubs that organize the parade) spend considerable sums on the beads and other trinkets to reward parade participants and observers for acts of what they may, in a non-literal sense, consider to represent justice, faith, or power. (OK, everybody knows breast-baring is sometimes involved. Who are we kidding?)

A Little History

Keep in mind, the United States is a country that was born of different heritages and cultures. Before the Revolutionary War, the French controlled New Orleans and didn't mind the pre-Lenten festival. But when the Spanish took control in the early 1800s, for numerous reasons, they abolished the practice. It wasn't until the late 1820s that the festival of masks was again permitted.

The Revelry Got out of Hand

The first organized parade was held in 1837 but the playfulness of drunken parading turned ugly and violent over the years and earned a negative reputation. It was on the verge of being banned until the Comus organization stepped in and took control. The group had run parades in Alabama since 1831. The group brought a sense of decorum to the parade and took responsibility for making it a safe yet festive event. The parade was interrupted during the Civil War but reinstituted, colors and all, in 1866 under the guidance of the Comus.

Rex Remains King

King Rex and the colors he deemed as "royal" remain institutions to Mardi Gras but the meaning of the colors has tarnished over the years and their presentation has much more to do with the pleading of those on the parade route for a trinket reward and less to do with justice, faith, or power (unless the giver is appreciative of the unabashed show of skin). Revelers take pride in receiving the trinkets and collect them by the basketful.

References

• A Pretty Thorough History
• A Tight, Concise History