The Origins of Mardi Gras Beads

The origins of Mardi Gras beads are one of the great mysteries of Carnival. Mardi Gras beads are one of the most recognizable symbols of this yearly celebration. They are thrown from the floats in Mardi Gras parades and are an integral part of any Mardi Gras party. As important as they are to Fat Tuesday festivities, very few people know where these trinkets come from and why they are thrown from floats.

Competitive Krewes
Although Mardi Gras parades have been held in New Orleans since the 1830s, the beads did not make their appearance until the early 20th century. Instead of having one big Mardi Gras parade, there is actually a series of parades, starting as early as January 6th (called the Twelfth Night of Christmas) and ending with Mardi Gras, which is always held 46 days before Easter. Each parade is held by a separate Carnival organization, which is called a "krewe."

The first official krewe was the Comus organization, which organized a themed parade and held a ball afterward. They were followed by several other krewes, who each put their own spin on parades. Early on, the krewes developed different strategies to outdo one another during the Carnival season. Krewes threw lavish parades based on different themes, like Ancient Egypt.

Unlike other parades, all of the Mardi Gras season parades encourage audience participation. Before the beads were introduced, audience members would call out for trinkets, and they would be rewarded with golden coins, candy and other treats.

The Rex krewe came on the scene in 1872, and this krewe was the first to use beads to reward the audience in 1900. The beads were originally made of glass and were strung on thread. These inexpensive bead necklaces were an instant hit. The rest of the krewes soon adopted the tradition. The glass bead necklaces used in the parades were imported from Czechoslovakia and Japan. Today's plastic beads, which are much safer to throw, are made in China.

The Truth Behind Bead Myths
Contrary to popular belief, women don't need to bare their chests in order to get Mardi Gras party beads. Although it has nothing to do with the Mardi Gras parades, it is often associated with the bead-throwing tradition. This tradition was started in the late 1970s in the French Quarter of New Orleans, which is far away from the location of the parades. Young co-eds who attend Mardi Gras festivities separate from the parades are usually the ones taking off their shirts for beads.

For those who attend the Mardi Gras parades, there's never a shortage of beads and other "throws" distributed to the crowd. Every audience member can come home with a bag full of beads, coins, candy, coconuts and other traditional trinkets.