See also
Look up laissez les bons temps rouler in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.
- Joie de vivre , a phrase with a similar sentiment
- Mardi Gras
The expression Laissez les bons temps rouler (alternatively Laissez le bon temps rouler, French pronunciation: [lɛselebɔ̃tɑ̃ʁule] ) is a Louisiana French phrase. The phrase is a calque of the English phrase "let the good times roll", that is, a word-for-word translation of the English phrase into Louisiana French Creole.
This phrase is often mentioned in Louisiana (especially New Orleans) and around the Gulf Coast where Mardi Gras is celebrated. It is well known touristically around the United States from television and radio. [1]
Mardi Gras is the final day of Carnival or Shrovetide before Ash Wednesday. Mardi Gras is French for "Fat Tuesday", reflecting the practice of the last night of consuming rich, fatty foods in preparation for the fasting season of Lent.
The Cajuns, also known as Louisiana Acadians, are a Louisiana French ethnicity mainly found in the U.S. state of Louisiana and surrounding Gulf Coast states.
Eunice is a city in Acadia and St. Landry parishes in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The 2010 census placed the population at 10,398, a decrease of 1,101, or 9.5 percent, from the 2000 tabulation of 11,499.
The holiday of Mardi Gras is celebrated in southern Louisiana, including the city of New Orleans. Celebrations are concentrated for about two weeks before and through Shrove Tuesday, the day before Ash Wednesday. Mardi Gras is French for Fat Tuesday, the season is known as Carnival and begins on King's Day, January 6(changes yearly with the church calendar), and extends until midnight before Ash Wednesday. Club, or Krewe, balls start soon after, though most are extremely private, with their Kings and Queens coming from wealthy old families and their courts consisting of the season's debutantes. Most of the high society Krewes do not stage parades. As Fat Tuesday gets nearer, the parades start in earnest. Usually there is one major parade each day ; many days have several large parades. The largest and most elaborate parades take place the last five days of the Mardi Gras season. In the final week, many events occur throughout New Orleans and surrounding communities, including parades and balls.
Holly Beach, also known as the "Cajun Riviera", is a coastal community in unincorporated community Cameron Parish, Louisiana, United States. Known for crabbing and a drive on the beach, this small Southwest Louisiana community mainly consisted of beach-front cabins called "camps" which, due to the threat of hurricanes, were "built-to-be-rebuilt" by its residents. It is part of the Lake Charles metropolitan area.
A capuchon is a cone-shaped ceremonial hat worn during the Mardi Gras celebration in the Cajun areas of southern Louisiana, known as the Courir de Mardi Gras. The rural celebration is based on early begging rituals, similar to those still celebrated by mummers, wassailers and celebrants of Halloween. As Mardi Gras is the celebration of the final day before Lent, celebrants drink and eat heavily, but dress in costume, ostensibly to protect their identities.
Joie de vivre is a French phrase often used in English to express a cheerful enjoyment of life, an exultation of spirit, and general happiness.
Mary Alice Fontenot, born in Eunice, Louisiana, was a noted author of regional children's books, best known for the Clovis Crawfish series published by Pelican Publishing, a collection of eighteen books featuring animals from the Louisiana bayou. The books are written in English and sprinkled with Cajun words, with an explanation of their pronunciation and meaning.
Mardi Gras is the annual Carnival celebration in Mobile, Alabama. It is the oldest official Carnival celebration in the United States, started by Frenchman Nicholas Langlois in 1703 when Mobile was the capital of Louisiana. Although today New Orleans and South Louisiana celebrations are much more widely known for all the current traditions such as masked balls, parades, floats and throws were first created there. From Mobile being the first capital of French Louisiana (1702), the festival began as a French Catholic tradition. Mardi Gras has now evolved into a mainstream multi-week celebration across the spectrum of cultures, becoming school holidays for the final Monday and Tuesday, regardless of religious affiliation.
The Courir de Mardi Gras is a traditional Mardi Gras event held in many Cajun and Creole communities of French Louisiana on the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday. Courir de Mardi Gras is Louisiana French for "Fat Tuesday Run". This rural Mardi Gras celebration is based on early begging rituals, similar to those still celebrated by mummers, wassailers, and celebrants of Halloween. As Mardi Gras is the celebration of the final day before Lent, celebrants drink and eat heavily, dressing in specialized costumes, ostensibly to protect their identities. In Acadiana, popular practices include wearing masks and costumes, overturning social conventions, dancing, drinking alcohol, begging, trail riding, feasting, and whipping. Mardi Gras is one of the few occasions when people are allowed to publicly wear masks in Louisiana. Dance for a Chicken: The Cajun Mardi Gras, a documentary by filmmaker Pat Mire, provides great insight into the history and evolution of this cultural tradition. In popular culture, two HBO series also make reference to the tradition.
Bontemps is a surname of French origin, meaning "good time".
Mardi Gras in the United States is celebrated in a number of cities and regions in the country. Most of these places trace their Mardi Gras celebrations to French, Spanish, and other Catholic colonial influences on the settlements over their history.
Anthony Chachere was an American businessman and chef best known as the founder of his eponymous Tony Chachere's Creole Foods seasonings and ingredients brand and its original product, Tony Chachere's Original Creole Seasoning. He was the first inductee into the Louisiana Chefs Hall of Fame, receiving that honor in 1995, just one week before his death.
"Bon Ton Roula" is a zydeco-influenced blues song first recorded by Clarence Garlow in 1949. The following year, it became a hit, reaching number seven in Billboard magazine's Rhythm & Blues chart and introduced the style to a national audience.
Eh La Bas is a traditional New Orleans song. Originally it was sung with Cajun lyrics but was later given French lyrics and the common title from the French lyrics. There have been numerous versions, including English lyrics that refer to both the Cajun and French versions, and all employ a call and response.
Krewe of Okeanos is a New Orleans Mardi Gras krewe.
Acadiana is a 2019 Canadian short documentary film directed by Guillaume Fournier, Samuel Matteau and Yannick Nolin. The film explores the changing face of Cajun culture in the United States, and its roots in the Acadian culture of Canada, through a profile of the Crawfish Festival in Breaux Bridge, Louisiana. The film was the second part of a trilogy by the directors about Cajun culture, following Let the Good Times Roll in 2017 and preceding Belle River in 2022.
Belle River is a 2022 Canadian short documentary film directed by Guillaume Fournier, Samuel Matteau and Yannick Nolin. The third film in a trilogy about Cajun culture in Louisiana following the films Let the Good Times Roll in 2017 and Acadiana in 2019, the film profiles the residents of Pierre Part as they cope with the threat of their community being flooded by the possible but ultimately averted opening of the Morganza Spillway during the Mississippi River floods of 2019.