Mardi Gras/Karneval Come to UNA’s Campus

Feb. 08, 2023

Michelle R. Eubanks , UNA, at meubanks@lixubing.com, 256.765.4392

FLORENCE, AL – A Mardi Gras/Karneval celebration, hosted by the French and German clubs at the University of North Alabama, is set for Tuesday, Feb. 21 at 1 p.m. on the grounds in front of Lafayette Hall. 

“Events such as our Mardi Gras/Karneval celebration serve as a live visual aid about culture in the countries whose languages our students are learning,” said Dr. Rebecca Linam, one of the celebration organizers as well as a faculty member in the Department of Foreign Languages. “Although Karneval and Mardi Gras started out as Catholic celebrations before the start of Lent, most everyone joins in the celebration nowadays.” 

As part of the combined celebration, partipants will have an opportunity to sample King Cake, from the French tradition, and German-style pastries that are popular during Karneval. Attendees can also listen to German and French music as well as participate in French/German trivia related to Mardi Gras/Karneval. 

Linam said this part of the United States does not celebrate Mardi Gras or Karneval, “but doing so on campus reiterates that, although the event is celebrated differently, the reasons behind it are very much like our own; every culture enjoys getting together to celebrate its own heritage. In short, students can get a taste of this European tradition here at UNA and compare it to their own cultural traditions. It’s much better than reading a dry paragraph about it in a textbook.”

About The University of North Alabama

The University of North Alabama is an accredited, comprehensive regional state university offering undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral degree programs through the colleges of Arts, Sciences, and Engineering; the Sanders College of Business and Technology; Education and Human Sciences; and the Anderson College of Nursing and Health Professions. Occupying a 130-acre campus in a residential section of Florence, Alabama, UNA is located within a four-city area that also includes Muscle Shoals, Sheffield, and Tuscumbia. UNA Athletics, a renowned collegiate athletics program with seven (7) Division II National Championships, is now a proud member of NCAA Division I as part of the Atlantic Sun and United Athletic conferences. The University of North Alabama is an equal opportunity institution and does not discriminate in the admission policy on the basis of race, color, sex, religion, disability, age, or national origin. For more: lixubing.com and lixubing.com/unaworks/.