Purple, Green and Gold: The Colors of Mardi Gras
One of the things that brings Mardi Gras to life are the colors associated with the celebration – purple, green and gold. It is thought that these colors were introduced by the Krewe of Rex in 1872. But it wasn’t until 20 years later that the meaning of the colors was revealed.
The theme of Rex’s parade of 1892 was “Symbolism of Colors”, which helped establish decorating the season with purple, green and gold. According to Krewe Rex, purple represented justice, green was symbolic of faith and gold represented power. It is said that Russia’s Grand Duke Alexis Romanoff suggested these colors while visiting Louisiana.
Today, everything from beads to King Cakes is decorated in the symbolic colors. They are so important to culture of Louisiana that both LSU and Tulane University have incorporated them into their team’s uniforms.