Since the city of New Orleans announced that its annual Carnival parades would not roll this year, and other cities have followed suit in calling off their celebrations, the word “unprecedented” has been thrown around like a set of plastic beads. While a parade-less Mardi Gras in New Orleans is a rarity, it actually is quite precedented—it’s happened fourteen times since the Mystick Krewe of Comus rolled the first New Orleans Carnival parade in 1857, to be precise. Wars, strikes, and—you guessed it—epidemics have halted celebrations throughout the city’s history. Here is a run-down of historical instances of canceled parades, to remind us that while Fat Tuesday 2021 might not be in good company, it’s certainly in company.
1862–1865
Early in 1862, as the Civil War progressed and New Orleans feared Union occupation (which occurred that May), the Krewe of Comus canceled their Mardi Gras events due to “general anxiety”. By 1864 Union commanders had sanctioned Mardi Gras celebrations, but it is said that a cloud of melancholy hung over the festivities, despite Union-monitored newspapers indicating otherwise.
1875
An attempted insurrection known as the Battle of Liberty Place, led by a white supremacist/Confederate veteran group called the Crescent City White League, took place in the fall of 1874, and parades were called off the following year due to residual political unrest.
1879
The krewes of Comus and Momus canceled their parades because of a yellow fever epidemic that had killed over four thousand the year prior. (Rex still rolled on Mardi Gras day, however. At least they were masked?)
1918-1919
World War I was occasion enough to cancel all organized parades, then came the Spanish Flu in the winter of 1918. By 1919, even though the war had ended, New Orleans was still financially reeling, on top of being in the midst of an epidemic that claimed nearly 3,500 lives, so all parades and balls were canceled.
1942–1945
Less than a week after the United States entered World War II in 1941, New Orleans officials announced that 1942 Carnival festivities were off. The only ball that year was to raise funds for the families of men who were enlisted.
1951
Despite the mayor at the time issuing a statement that there was no need to cancel, many of the more established krewes such as Rex, Comus, Proteus, and Momus chose not to hold festivities because of the Korean War.
1979
In 1978, the New Orleans Police Department clashed with the city's first Black mayor Ernest “Dutch” Morial for a variety of reasons, including his hiring a new police superintendent from Birmingham rather than promoting from within, and his issuing a pay raise that took away sick days. When the police union demanded a pay raise that the mayor refused, N.O.P.D. went on strike, causing parades and festivities to be called off or relocated to the suburbs.
There have been a few instances in the thirty-two years since when Mardi Gras parades were threatened but carried on regardless. In 1992, many took issue with the City Council’s anti-discrimination ordinance that required krewes to admit members regardless of race, nationality, etc., but only Comus ceased rolling parades entirely as a result, while Momus sat that year out, and Proteus took a six-year hiatus. Many also thought that the city’s financial devastation following Hurricane Katrina would halt festivities in 2006, but a scaled-down Carnival celebration occurred, nonetheless.
While canceled parades of course brings some sadness, history reminds us that sometimes fun must be put on hold for the sake of the greater good. It also reminds us that even if this Mardi Gras looks different, we can likely look forward to a bigger celebration than ever in 2022—and in the meantime, at least we still have king cake.
