"Tho me sometin Mista!!" Collecting the "throws" (beads, doubloons and trinkets) from Mardi Gras parades is a long standing tradition of carnival season in New Orleans.
Beyond the decadence of the French Quarter, families throughout Louisiana celebrate Mardi Gras by spending time together and attending the many parades.
In the autumn of 1621 the Plymouth colonists celebrated their first harvest with the native Americans. These Puritan Pilgrims and Wampanoag Indians held the first secular celebration we now call Thanksgiving.
The harvest festival of Samhain at the Celtic new year morphed into the Roman Pomona Day and later the christian All Hallows. The commercial event of Halloween in the USA is a mixture of Celtic, pagan and medieval traditions. However, the secular event has been making a return to it's European roots. Over the last ten years, Halloween marketing has helped expand the practice in many parts of Europe.
Under a palapa on the beach is the ideal location to spend the day in the Riviera Maya region of Mexico. The ocean breeze rustles the thatch of dried palms on top. The structure provides shade and refuge from the harsh sun. Frozen drinks and a light lunch served beneath make it easy to just lounge away the lazy days of summer....
