Dr. Rebecca Linam, a Professor in the UNA Department of Foreign Languages, said Mardi Gras is referred to as the fifth season of the year in many countries.

UNA Set to Celebrate Multicultural Mardi Gras

Feb. 08, 2024



Michelle R. Eubanks , UNA, at meubanks@una.edu, 256.765.4392

FLORENCE, AL – The Department of Foreign Languages at the University of North Alabama will have a multicultural Mardi Gras celebration Tuesday, Feb. 13, from 11 a.m. until 12:30 p.m. in the atrium of the Guillot University Center. 

“Celebrated in most European and Latin American countries, each country has a unique tradition surrounding it,” said UNA Foreign Languages Professor Dr. Rebecca Linam. “You may know of Mardi Gras from Louisiana, but did you know it’s just as popular, if not more so, in other countries?” 

Referred to as the fifth season of the year in many countries, the original French term Mardi Gras is known by other names around the world. In Germany, Mardi Gras is called Karneval, Fasching, or Fastnacht depending on the region. In Spanish Mardi Gras is known as Carnaval. 

As part of UNA’s Multicultural Mardi Gras, traditional French King Care, in which a tiny plastic baby is hidden, will be served. The single guest whose slice of case has the baby will be crowned king of the day. The German table will have free Karneval t-shirts, German books, and traditional German gummy bears. The Spanish Club will include the Spanish heritage side of Carnaval, including free Spanish candy and crepes. 

The event is sponsored by the UNA French, German, and Spanish clubs.

 

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: una.edu and una.edu/unaworks/.