Cajun Crawfish Boil

Rose Shelton

In this picture, the crawfish, the beads, the beer, and the daiquiri all represent Louisiana. Many people in Louisiana love to eat crawfish and drink beer. Crawfish have long been an inherent part of Louisiana culture. Crawfish have been a favorite food of Louisiana for many years. South Louisiana is the crawfish capital of the world. The crawfish supports a multimillion dollar a year industry. Crawfish is a food that is very popular for people in Louisiana to cater at big events such as Mardi Gras parties, sorority and fraternity events, family gatherings, crawfish boils and many other functions. At crawfish boils, there is nothing better than drinking beer with your crawfish. Drinking your beer with crawfish is something that that young adults and older adults love to do. Crawfish not only has been a traditional food to serve at many parties, it is also a huge part in people’s life as a job. During the next 35 years, crawfish farming will have developed into the largest crustacean aquaculture industry in the United States. Louisiana leads the nation, producing more than 90% of the domestic crop. Louisiana’s economy makes 120 million dollars annually and more than 7,000 people depend directly or indirectly on the crawfish industry. The beads in the picture represent Mardi Gras which is a huge tradition in Louisiana. The traditional colors for Mardi Gras are purple, green, and gold. Purple means justice, green means faith, and gold means power. Many people wear these colors on their clothes during Mardi Gras and at the parades. Many Mardi Gras parades are hosted all over Louisiana. The parades consist of huge decorated floats, with people on them throwing beads, cups, hats, flowers, stuffed animals, footballs, and many other objects. The major parades originate Uptown and Mid- City districts that go along St. Charles Avenue and Canal street in New Orleans. Many people from all different states come to Louisiana to be here for the parades and the huge celebration to have a good time. Many people go to New Orleans for Mardi Gras and stay in the hotels for a couple of days and go out on Bourbon street and the French Quarter. Mardi Gras in New Orleans is one of the biggest celebrations in the world. This celebration is the start of the Catholic season of Lent. Celebrations are especially concentrated for about two weeks before and through Fat Tuesday, the day before Ash Wednesday. All of the Mardi Gras celebrations are celebrated for many days with music, Cajun food, friends and family. The daiquiri in the picture represents Louisiana in a unique way. Louisiana is one of the only places that have drive thru stops for daiquiris. If someone wanted a daiquiri to go they could find a place and get one. One of the only laws about this is that the straw cannot be in the cup if caught with it while driving. This picture represents Louisiana in a couple of different ways. The crawfish, the beads, the beer, and the daiquiri are some things that make Louisiana unique.