It’s carnival season! We’ll talk about that, but first a story:
Two years ago I got a large king cake from a local bakery for a church party on Epiphany. Very quickly, someone found a baby. Yay! Then someone else found a baby. The king cake had twins. But wait … another baby emerged, and then another.
By the time the final slices were cut, the cake had produced six identical baby figurines. They weren’t the cute supine little babies, either. These babies were white as bone, ramrod-straight and had the build of brittle Victorian toddlers. I was so weirded out I sent five of them to a priest to dispose of, and set the other in the hollow of a tree behind my house. I’m not taking any chances with those creepy babies. I’ll post a picture at the end.
THE PEACE MONKS TOUCH HEARTS IN THE SOUTH
The group of Buddhist monks walking from Texas to Washington, D.C., are making their way through South Carolina and North Carolina this weekend, having stopped by several cities in Georgia last week.
- Their message of unequivocal, apolitical, universal peace has touched thousands of hearts, with crowds of people lining up on the roadsides to watch them pass, give aid, pray and meditate.
- I was really touched by AJC photographer Arvin Temkar’s essay, which he wrote after photographing the monks next Atlanta:
I went to Fayetteville on Dec. 29 to photograph the walking monks for the AJC. There were hundreds of onlookers on the highway, and thousands more in the mixed-used development Trilith, where the monks had planned a lunch stop. Though I knew there would be some curious onlookers, I hadn’t anticipated the size of the crowds — or the excitement. I hadn’t realized the power of what the monks were bringing: hope.
- Looking at the photos of all kinds of people brought together by this act, there really is no better word for it than hope. Love, perhaps, or at least admiration, for our neighbors and friends who yearn as much as we do for a more peaceful world.
☮️ READ MORE: A photographer’s perspective on a meaningful movement
COUNTDOWN TO MARDI GRAS
Carnival season starts in the South on Jan. 6, known in Christian circles as Epiphany. That’s when we observe the arrival of the three kings (or wise men; the fancy ones in the nativity sets) to see the baby Jesus. Hence the king cakes, weird little babies, stars and such. It all culminates on Mardi Gras, or Fat Tuesday, on Feb. 17.
- More than a million out-of-state tourists will flock to New Orleans for the festivities.
- This year’s NoLa lineup includes 68 parades over 43 days.
While New Orleans is America’s unofficial Mardi Gras capital, another city claims the honor of the first official Mardi Gras celebration in the U.S. Which is it?
a. Baton Rouge, Louisiana
b. Biloxi, Mississippi
c. Savannah, Georgia
d. Mobile, Alabama
I’ll put the answer below the next section.
SIPS FROM AROUND THE SOUTH
🦅 Cherokee, NC: The Noquisiyi Mound in Franklin, North Carolina, an important site to the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, has been returned to the tribe after city leaders voted unanimously in favor. Noquisiyi translates to “star place.” More from WISTV
🛻 Long Beach, MS: The city’s annual Jeep-a-Gras rolled through town this weekend. Proud owners turned their rides into little floats for a parade, with streamers and costumes and everything. You know how Jeep people are. Live music, daiquiris and you got yourself a party. More from WLOX
🤓 Birmingham, AL: The fourth annual HBCU Energy Hackathon brought together students from five HBCUs to test their innovative minds. This year’s theme was “Quantify the Impact: A Digital Tool for Non-Energy Benefits of Home Efficiency.” Students looked at how energy efficiency in the home creates other benefits to health, economic and social status. More from Alabama News Center
QUIZ ANSWER: It’s d. Mobile, Alabama. According to record, the first Mardi Gras celebration was held by French settlers in 1703.
TELL US SOMETHING GOOD
Is there a cool event we need to know about? Something great happening in your town? Let us know. This is your space, too. SweetTea@ajc.com.
SOUTHERN WISDOM
Each and every one of us has the capacity to be an oppressor. I want to encourage each and everyone of us to interrogate how we might be an oppressor and how we might be able to become liberators for ourselves and for each other.
Thank you for reading to the very bottom of Sweet Tea! Join us next week by subscribing to the newsletter.🍑
About the Author
AJ Willingham is an National Emmy, NABJ and Webby award-winning journalist who loves talking culture, religion, sports, social justice, infrastructure and the arts. She lives in beautiful Smyrna-Mableton and went to Syracuse University.
