Mardi Gras Essays -- Holidays Holiday Mardi Gras New Orleans Essays

Mardi Gras This paper is about Mardi Gras, A festival or Carnival celebrated once a year. In this paper I will discuss how Mardi Gras originated, when it is celebrated, how it is celebrated, and what does it mean to all the different cultures.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Mardi Gras, in the French speaking parts of the world and in some US southern states is the last day of carnival festivities preceding Lent, the time of penitence observed by Christians in preparation for Easter. Mardi Gras (?Fat Tuesday?) is a French term for Shrove Tuesday, the day before the start of Lent. Before Lent festivities reach the climax on a day in February or March, depending on what date Easter is.(Americana pg. 308)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  French colonists brought Mardi Gras to America in the early 1700?s. It grew popular in New Orleans, Louisiana, and spread through the southern states. Mardi Gras is a legal holiday in Alabama and Florida and in eight counties of Louisiana. The New Orleans celebration is the most famous. But Biloxi, Mississippi, and Mobile, Alabama also have celebrations. (World Book pg. 197)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  History of Mardi Gras in New Orleans during the 18th century. Many wealthy Louisiana families would leave their rural plantations to spend the winter months in New Orleans, where they held lavish parties and masked balls. The first written reference to Mardi Gras celebrations in New Orleans appears in a 1781 report of the Spanish government, which controlled Louisiana. The report addressed problems that might arise from allowing slaves to wear masks at the winter festivities. The United States took control of Louisiana in 1803, and the New Orleans? city council banned all masked entertainment three years later. Enforcement of the law appears to have been erratic. By the mid-1820s masks and costumes were again legal. The first documented Mardi Gras parade took place in 1837, and the parade soon became an annual tradition. However, outbursts of violence at the parades gave the festivities a bad name.(?Mardi Gras? Microsoft Encarta Encyclopedia 99)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Shrove Tuesday immediately precedes Ash Wednesday and is the last day before Lent. Mardi Gras has been noted for the elaborate mumming parades and boisterous parties that characterize its celebration in New Orleans, Trinidad... ... blackface (black makeup traditionally used in minstrel shows) and wear grass skirts as they distribute gold-painted coconuts to crowds of observers.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Another important African American Carnival tradition is the annual appearance of the Mardi Gras Indians, groups of black men who dance through the streets in costumes inspired by the traditional clothing of Native Americans. Each member of a Mardi Gras Indians tribe creates his own costume, usually incorporating colorful feathers and intricate beadwork. Most scholars believe that the Mardi Gras Indians tradition began in the late 19th century. In the past, rivalries between tribes sometimes led to violent confrontations. Today, such conflicts have given way to a competition among the Mardi Gras Indian tribes for the most elaborate costume.(?Mardi Gras? Microsoft Encarta Encyclopedia 99)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Mardi Gras continues to attract tourists to New Orleans from around the world. Today Mardi Gras draws more than 3 million people to parades and generates approximately $1 billion for the local economy. (?Mardi Gras? Microsoft Encarta Encyclopedia 99)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  

Road to Mecca

The Road to Mecca examines the bio-psycho-social systems and issues that are part of the aging process. There are many issues introduced that are useful in understanding the social workers role in evaluating and developing a plan of care for young adults through late adulthood development. Since the passing of her husband, Helen has devoted her time to creating and transforming her home into her own â€Å"Mecca† of beauty and freedom. The dozens of sculptures of wise men, mermaids and other figures inside and outside of her home has secluded Helen from her neighbors who are very rigid white Calvinists.Her neighbors are trying to get rid of Helen by encouraging her to move into a local old folk’s home because of her eccentric work of art surrounding her home and because they fear for Helen’s safety living alone, now that she is in late adulthood and recently almost burnt her house down. Elsa is a young career minded woman who has befriended Helen and the only pers on that respects and accepts Helen’s work and interest. Throughout this play there are many psychoanalytic themes such as love, abandonment, dependency and loss to name a few.Both Helen and Elsa appeared to have grown up with a sense of abandonment and lack of trust from their families and others. Before the death of Helen’s husband, she lived as a conventional member of society. After becoming a widow, she began expressing herself in an artistic way and displaying her creativity throughout her house. Now that she is in late adulthood and becoming gradually unable to manage on her own as she use to, her sense of creativity seems at an end and she finds herself faced with a sense of darkness and hopelessness that at times overwhelms her.Helen discusses that when she was a child her mother would take away her candle at night; to be in pure darkness as a child was frightening for her and when her mother took away the candle, she took away Helen’s only source of com fort. That fear of darkness transformed into a feeling of abandonment for Helen which has caused her to search for intimacy and trust in her life that she fears she will not find before she dies. Helen’s darkness that she once saw on the outside when the candles were blown out is now darkness she feels on the inside; candles can no longer help this kind of darkness.This darkness symbolizes Helen’s depression. She is frightened that old age is over taking her and affecting her ability to continue creating her Mecca, take care of herself and find the true intimacy in her life that she needs. When Helen meets Elsa and their friendship blossoms, she becomes Helen’s only source of light. The day Helen met Elsa is the day she felt like her true self. Elsa didn’t judge Helen because of her statues and mermaids, she accepted her and after this, Helen felt she could trust Elsa. Elsa revived Helen’s life by accepting her true self.Elsa has extreme trust issu es which are exposed throughout this play. All trust is lost and feelings of abandonment resurface after Elsa’s married boyfriend leaves her and chooses his wife and child. Shame and guilt arise when Elsa has an abortion and when her plan to live happily ever after with a married man goes sour. The relationship with the married man opened her up to life and love, she felt like a woman for the first time. Her heart was wide open to someone that ended up betraying her. Now she feels as though she can’t trust at all and will think twice before she trusts again.Elsa feels you can love someone without trusting them, she is stuck in a mind set of all you need is love. This situation brings up feelings from the past for Elsa. It’s apparent that Elsa never learned trust as a child and trusting another is what she fears most. â€Å"Trust is more dangerous because that’s when you drop your defenses, lay yourself wide open, and if you’ve made a mistake, youà ¢â‚¬â„¢re in big, big trouble. And it hurts like hell. † Helen and Elsa’s fear of abandonment, trust and feelings of possible rejection also emerge when they both hide secrets from each other.Helen lies to Elsa about her suicidal attempt when the house almost burnt down and Elsa hesitates to tell Helen about the abortion and the married boyfriend. The two women have found love in each other and trust; they have had too much rejection in the past and fear their friendship will end badly if their secrets are revealed. Both women are very desperate to see if their friendship will survive their struggles. When Helen explains to Elsa about Marius and the rest of the community encouraging her to move into an old people’s home, Elsa becomes furious with Helen for not standing up for herself.Elsa becomes so angry about this issue, she needs Helen to stand up for herself and fight because Helen is the only one that lives her life the way she wants. If Helen goes into the old people’s home, Elsa will feel a sense of abandonment. Helen serves as a source of inspiration for her and her reaction to Helen’s inability to cope is tied to her need for Helen to remain a strong role model. There are many instances where both women provide a mirroring experience for each other in their lives. Elsa understands Helen’s life of expressing herself through her statues and she allows Helen to see how special she is.Elsa represents the good enough mother for Helen. She provides a holding environment for her. Especially after Elsa receives Helen’s letter of despair and comes to her side for support. Helen is able to challenge Elsa, to be herself and nobody has ever done that. This is what a mother would provide for her child. Both have a fear that if one is in darkness how will the other survive. Helen and Elsa need each other to take away their darkness inside. Miss Helen and Elsa develop a twinship with one another.Both allow themselves t o be vulnerable with each other, Miss Helen even states she allows the little girl inside of her come out to play when she is around Elsa. They both provide a sense of belonging and acceptance for each other. A mother holds the key to her child’s development. Helen and Elsa are on a journey of self discovery and both are at two different developmental stages in their lives. They are both stuck in two areas of the life cycle, trust and abandonment. The mirroring experience Miss Helen and Elsa have, allows a social worker to assess that both women are searching for the mother they never had.These two women were each other’s therapist. A therapist in many cases acts as the â€Å"mother† or â€Å"caretaker† for their clients. Therapists provide a safe holding place for their clients to be able to fall apart in. Therapists also mirror back strengths and uniqueness of a client that typically a good enough mother would provide. With support for each other Miss H elen and Elsa were able to move on with life. At the end of the play, Elsa helps Helen gain confidence when she stands up to Marius about not moving into the retirement home.Helen was able to explain to Marius that her home is the only place where she feels real. After Helen is able to stand her ground against Marius and the rest of the town, Helen and Elsa’s bond deepens. Elsa is able to admit that her choice of abortion has caused some depression. Helen is able to understand the pain that Elsa feels just like Elsa is able to understand Helen’s unconventional art work. The understanding that Helen has for Elsa’s troubles helps Elsa recognize the special role that Helen plays in her life.In the first act of the play when Elsa was very mean and disrespectful to Helen, she was displacing her anger and grief about her married ex-boyfriend and aborted child onto Helen. Elsa is even able to trust again by the end of the play, which is evident in the closing line, â⠂¬Å"Open your arms and catch me, I’m going to jump. † At the end of Act two, Helen is also able to move on with her life by allowing her candles to be blown out which symbolizes she is accepting her development in late adulthood and the completion of her Mecca.The childhood background of a person plays a major part in their adulthood life. When one has a healthy family typically the experience of abandonment and trust issues do not occur. Elsa felt trapped in her early adulthood; she had a job as a teacher in a â€Å"colored† school and ultimately had to conceal her true self to keep her job. Her heart was broken by the man she loved and opened her heart to and she experienced guilt and shame for terminating her pregnancy. Helen was also feeling trapped in her life.Creating her Mecca allowed her to create her own freedom and show her true self instead of complying with Cape Town’s religious ways of living. Both women were able to find a way out of their tr apped lives by finding trust and true intimacy with each other. This play shows the development of a great friendship and how having true intimacy in your life means showing all your faults and rawness without rejection. Helen and Elsa’s characters show that you can continue to grow until the end of life.

Domestic Violence In Sports Essay

Throughout history, sports players have been in the public eye. They’re much thought of as the heroic figures to those who desire a career in the league or even the â€Å"die hard† fans who are dedicated. When thinking of the stereotypical traits of a heroic figure as someone who’s trustworthy, honesty and viewed to be an untouchable individual. But as we all know not every story is what some may call â€Å"picture perfect†. People fail to realize that their champion winning sports players we cheer on during game days are just like everyone in the world. The question being how can we establish a connection with ones that real side may barely be shown? In recent weeks, sports media has been booming with tabloids about domestic violence cases of well-known players in their leagues. As we the public become intrigued to see these players fall from their immortal status from committing such a crime thought to be impossible for them. As fans typically only take a glance of their lives on the field; I come to wonder if it’s more of a shock to them or a reality of everyone’s ability to be held equally. Would the standards be different if your position in society didn’t matter as much as the crime that has been committed should? An article published online in USA Today last week, states that even with the multiple controversies going on in the NFL and the nation, is taking much needed action towards players involved in the domestic violence convictions such as. Actions are also being taken in teams like the Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice, was charged with a domestic violence case with an assault his then-fiancà ©e Janay Rice, who was left unconscious for in an elevator. Rice is known to have a clean record, after authorities released the video of Rice and his then fiancà ©e knocked out; the agreement between the NFL and the Ravens to end Rice’s contract following up with an indefinite suspension. This decision was reported by researchers- Erik Brady and Jim Corbett both journalist for USA Today. In addition to the NFL furthers taking action an article by researcher Will Brinson a Senior NFL Writer, writes weekly articles and directs videos for CBS Sports.com. Brinson quotes statement from a memo from Commissioner Roger Goodell to the 32 NFL owners â€Å"The NFL is hiring four women advisors in shaping the league’s stance on domestic violence†, The league is attempting to change the outlook of how it handles domestic  violence with the hopes of being looked at for an earnest effort towards change. Goodell wrote, â€Å"Because domestic violence and sexual assault are broad societal issues, we have engaged leading experts to provide specialized advice and guidance in ensuring that the NFL’s programs reflect the most current and effective approaches.† In addition to Goodell’s memo, he also stated a plan for the four women such as Lisa Friel, the former Sex Crime Prosecution Unit in New York County District Attorney’s Office to be one of the women to peruse the NFL’s efforts. Domestic violence is the behavior used by one person in a relationship to control the other. This violence takes place in many forms and can happen all the time or once in a while. Although both men and women are susceptible to abuse, the most common cases are known to be found dealing with women who have been in some form neglected or abused. In studies cases of domestic violence have been on the rise, meaning more cases of not just celebrities but people all around the nat ion. As the talk rises of domestic violence cases pertaining to sports people see this as tragedy and a new cause to crime that has been happening for decades. It’s taken little pity on the actual victim but more on the player who is at fault. In the SBNation article written by Stephen â€Å"Poseour† Blake, stating that most fans are leaning towards defending team players rather than raising awareness for those who have been emotionally and physically impacted by the crime done. When do we ask ourselves, is supporting something worth it? With a personal belief that we should live by the rules of treating everyone with fairness and honesty as fans indicate sports players to be. In conclusion, I think that athletes are treated to an alternate standard compared to everyone because more is invested into their successful than their downfall. More cases of domestic violence are becoming better known to the public; especially in sports mostly pertaining to players in the NFL league. My feelings towards this topic are that even with fame of being known for a talent is a very rare accomplishment that’s few get to achieve. People still need to realize that no matter how famous a person becomes their still accountable for their actions. Personally I think that more should be done to the person accused of the crime just as equally for someone who isn’t on the fame radar. Punishment shouldn’t have a limit just because this person is well- known. Alon g with fans treating the victims more like the criminals instead of the players. When in reality  being a â€Å"die hard† fan doesn’t always mean supporting what’s wrong.