Word of the Week: a bookish meme hosted here on Mondays in which we share a word that we find entertaining, enlightening, edifying, or just plain fun to say! Share your own word on your blog, then help me grow the meme and come share it here on mine!
I missed last week! I was finishing up the biggest editing project I have ever had, and it ate my brain. But I’m done, and I learned so much from it! I love what I do.
Now, back to our regularly scheduled Word of the Week!
No, this week’s word isn’t talking about the present tense of the verb “to throw.” The action of throwing is involved, though!
Throws are what you get if you go to a Mardi Gras parade! Usually throws are things like beads and cups. Some krewes (keep an eye out for that word later!) have signature throws like purses or shoes.
See also the phrase “Throw me something, mister!” That’s what you holler at the riders on the floats if you hope to get a throw or two (and in Louisiana, the more swag you collect during the parade, the better a parade it is!). According to the Historic New Orleans Collection, “The tradition of ‘throwing’ trinkets and treats to a mass of revelers predates Carnival itself. The ancient Romans distributed whips made of goat hide—and playful whippings—to the frolicking crowds at the conclusion of Lupercalia, the early forerunner to the Carnival celebration we know today. These annual rites of purification and fertility were associated with the vernal equinox that marked the return of the sun. In medieval France, the fête de la quémande saw groups of peasants emerging from the dark winter, donning miters and pointed hats to mock the wealthy classes, and begging and dancing for items to eat. That tradition continues today with the Cajun courir de Mardi Gras.” The first instances of items being thrown as part of today’s official Mardi Gras parades took place in the early 1870s. The throws have changed over the years, but each year krewes aim to improve the parade-going experience with more, more, more!
Have you ever caught anything at a parade?
And just for fun, here’s a little ditty about the joy of throws. Happy Monday!
Got a word? Share it below. Then share the meme to help it grow!
I didn’t know they were called throws. Thanks for my new word.
Happy to share! Later WOTW entries may have information about specific, special throws.