Catch The Chicken And Share Gumbo At This Local Celebration

🐊 KNGT 🐊 | Louisiana — What most people think of as Mardi Gras happens in the New Orleans. But what Cajuns celebrate happens in the country. According to explorelouisiana.com, this tradition is called Courir de Mardi Gras, which means “Fat Tuesday Run.” It’s loud. It’s wild. It’s old school. And it goes back to French roots that came to Louisiana in the 1800s.

How to Celebrate Cajun Mardi Gras

Most celebrations start early on Mardi Gras morning, masked runners show up in homemade costumes. Bright colors. Tall hats. Faces covered. Some ride horses. Some ride trailers. Some just show up ready to go. The whole thing is led by a capitaine, the boss of the run. He lays down the rules and keeps things from getting too outta hand, usually with a burlap whip cracking in the air.

The goal is simple. Go house to house. Sing. Dance. Act a little crazy. And beg for gumbo ingredients. Folks hand over rice, flour, spices, sausage, and whatever else they got. But everyone’s waiting on one thing.

When that chicken hits the yard, it’s on. Runners scatter. People trip. People laugh. Dirt flies. Catching the chicken is the big prize, because that bird is headed straight for the gumbo pot later that day.

You’ll see this all across Acadiana. Places like Mamou, Iota, Elton, and Church Point, all do it a little different, but the heart is the same. In Church Point, kids get their own run before Fat Tuesday. In Tee-Mamou, the capitaine raises a flag and everyone hops down to sing the old begging song, La chanson de Mardi Gras. They even have an all-female run the Saturday before Mardi Gras.

This ain’t fancy. It ain’t polished. It’s real. It’s family. Lots of the traditions are passed down from generation to generation. Down here, Mardi Gras don’t end when the beads hit the ground. It ends when the gumbo’s ready and everyone is gathered around the table.