Cultural Traditions
Mardi Gras Horses and Chickens - A Cajun Tradition
Mardi Gras, or Fat Tuesday, comes with unique traditions in Cajun culture, such as chicken runs on horseback.
Cultural Origins
Fat Tuesday is a day of robust eating and drinking before heading into the abstemious 40 day period of Lent in the Christian calendar. In Cajun culture around New Orleans bands of riders (or “runners”) visit their neighbors on horseback asking for charity and fresh ingredients to gumbo, the local stew. There are many tunes and songs associated with the day – the one we used to accompany our audience-participation chicken run during our 2016 Acadian-Cajun Christmas Revels was “Les Veuves du la Coulée.”