Mardi Gras is more than gaudy floats and drinking copious amounts of anything alcoholic. Well, maybe it isn’t for everyone, but we should think about what else it means, especially to the city of New Orleans.

New Orleans has become inseperable from the idea of Mardi Gras. Students in New Orleans get special holidays in the spring. People spend all year laboring on floats and costumes, gathering throws and fantasizing about the day “the Season” starts again.

Although Mardi Gras is certainly a huge economic assistance to the city, the parades and fun have gone beyond that and sunk into the way New Orleans is perceived. Some people think that Mardi Gras (and therefore New Orleans) is an exercise in debauchery. But those who have spent time here know that’s only one side of the story.

Mardi Gras is a time to be with family and friends. It should be spent hauling your parade ladders down the street, putting the barbecue pit in the back of the truck, and plotting your parking location like it’s a matter of life and death.

The crazy out-of-towners are fun to watch, but most of the people at any parade will be more interested in trying to persuade the guy with the giant purple teddy bear to trade it for a beer.

New Orleans without Mardi Gras is like red beans without the rice. Mardi Gras is the city’s soul food. We need to make sure we keep the traditions (and the gumbo) going.