It's Carnival Time

Today as I was scanning The Advocate Newspaper, I ran across an article about the Twelfth Night. As many of you probably don't know (I didn't) yesterday was the Twelfth Night, the last day of the twelve days of Christmas, marking the Feast of the Epiphany, (for you non Catholics that's the day the three kings laid their gifts before the baby Jesus.) In years gone by the Twelfth Night has also been the official kick off of carnival. Like Mardi Gras and Fat Tuesday, Twelfth Night began as a Catholic tradition, another celebration in preparation for Lent.

But with the devestation of New Orleans, many of us are wondering if Mardi Gras will ever be the same. Changes we will see this year includes the number of party days. Yes, our beloved carnival season has been cut short, from twelve days of celebrating to a mere eight due to a lack of funds and more importantly, residents. Then there's the whole controversy about having carnival in the first place. The city officials say it is needed to generate revenue and to show the world that New Orleans is rebuilding. Some residents say it is a part of the normalcy that is desperately needed, while others feel there are more pressing issues at hand besides floats, beads and half naked women baring their breast.

I am from the school of tradition and if it ain't broke, don't try and fix it. New Orleans may not be broke, but it damn sure looks like Katrina and Rita where going for a TKO! This year will mark the 150th anniversary of carnival for the City of New Orleans. Should we allow all of that tradition to be swept away along with everything else that was destroyed by the hurricanes or rise up and move forward?