Mardi Gras is an annual pre-Lent celebration and New Orleans tradition. But where did the tradition of flashing for beads at Mardi Gras come from? You can try to earn beads by dropping your So, how and why did the practice of "flashing for beads at Mardi Gras" get started. Many people believe the practice of earning beads that way got its start in the 1970s. That's when the women's rights movement was really taking hold across the country and many females took exception to the irony I just described. The Mardi Gras that locals grew up with, enjoyed and love is occurring in every other part of New Orleans and the surrounding suburbs - not in the French Quarter. The large, traditional Mardi Gras krewes who bring you the "Greatest Free Show on Earth" do not even parade through the Quarter because there is a size restriction on floats in that area. Float riders toss beads, cups and doubloons to fans and revelers in the 2013 Krewe of Bacchus Mardi Gras Parade on Feb. 10, 2013, in New Orleans Skip Bolen—Getty Images Beads and Throws These Mardi Gras beads are akin to what author Vincent Spear would have been catching at the time he wrote his pamphlet. HNOC, gift of Jeffrey Faughnan and Bill Rosenbaun, 2019.0096.69.6 A Muses shoe is among the prized throws of modern-day Mardi Gras. Another way that guys earn Mardi Gras beads is by working at a float. Guys who work at floats are responsible for ensuring that the float stays afloat and that the riders stay safe. As a reward for their hard work, they often receive beads. Finally, guys can also earn Mardi Gras beads by simply being generous. Mardi Gras is an annual pre-Lent celebration and New Orleans tradition. But where did the tradition of flashing for beads at Mardi Gras come from? You can try to earn beads by dropping your So, how and why did the practice of "flashing for beads at Mardi Gras" get started. Many people believe the practice of earning beads that way got its start in the 1970s. That's when the women's rights movement was really taking hold across the country and many females took exception to the irony I just described. The Mardi Gras that locals grew up with, enjoyed and love is occurring in every other part of New Orleans and the surrounding suburbs - not in the French Quarter. The large, traditional Mardi Gras krewes who bring you the "Greatest Free Show on Earth" do not even parade through the Quarter because there is a size restriction on floats in that area. Float riders toss beads, cups and doubloons to fans and revelers in the 2013 Krewe of Bacchus Mardi Gras Parade on Feb. 10, 2013, in New Orleans Skip Bolen—Getty Images Beads and Throws These Mardi Gras beads are akin to what author Vincent Spear would have been catching at the time he wrote his pamphlet. HNOC, gift of Jeffrey Faughnan and Bill Rosenbaun, 2019.0096.69.6 A Muses shoe is among the prized throws of modern-day Mardi Gras. Another way that guys earn Mardi Gras beads is by working at a float. Guys who work at floats are responsible for ensuring that the float stays afloat and that the riders stay safe. As a reward for their hard work, they often receive beads. Finally, guys can also earn Mardi Gras beads by simply being generous.
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