Bradshaw
There are at least two reasons to wear a mask at Mardi Gras. The first is that masking continues a long tradition. Masquerade balls were part of the Carnival season in Europe at least as early as the 1400s. They were held in Louisiana at least by 1755, when colonial administrator Pierre de Rigaud, marquis de Vaudreuil-Cavagnial, hosted what may have been the first one in New Orleans.
The bals masque were just beginning to flourish when Louisiana was ceded to Spain in 1763. Spanish governors did not like Mardi Gras and especially did not like masking. The high society balls were stopped, and people of color, who held celebrations in Congo Square in New Orleans, were banned from wearing masks, feathers, or attending nighttime balls.
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