Moo
n
It's not Times Square on
New Year's, but my town of Mobile, Alabama drops a Moon Pie on December 31st
and has done so since
2008. It's a 12-foot-tall lighted mechanical banana colored Moon
Pie. We made national news again and I saw several Facebook post about what a
Moon Pie has to do with Mardi Gras. Well, we are home to the ORIGINAL Mardi
Gras (contrary what those folks over in New Orleans think -- big rivalry, mind
you).
Moon
Pies have been made at the Chattanooga Bakery since 1917. Earl Mitchell Junior
said his father came up with the idea for Moon Pies when he asked a Kentucky
coal miner what kind of snack he would like to eat, and the miner requested
something with graham cracker and marshmallow which had been dipped in
chocolate. When Mitchell's father asked how big it should be, the miner looked
up in the night sky and framed the full moon with his hands.
Throwing Moon Pies
originally began in Mobile, where they are still the catch of choice for the
parades there. But why a Moon Pie? A lot of people that aren’t that familiar
with the Mobile style should know that before 1974, food has always been
involved as a throw ever since 1949, when Crackerjacks, (peanuts and caramel
nuggets) were thrown by a lot of krewes as a treat for the revelers.
Crackerjacks, were brought about because they were a cheap alternative to
beads.
However, people kept
getting beamed with the end of those rectangular boxes. Mobile city officials
banned the candied popcorn about 1972. A lot treats and articles preceded the
Moon Pie icon as the krewes searched for a replacement.
The first to throw of
Moon Pies were the krewe of “Maids of Mirth” in 1974. Soon other krewes
followed. They first came in chocolate dipped graham cracker cookies with a
marshmallow center. Now, the famed cookies come in also banana, coconut, orange
and vanilla. Peanut butter is pretty popular down here, too, and I hear there's
strawberry and apple.
Hope you enjoyed your
Southern history lesson. (Thanks to Wikipedia and "The History of the
Mardi Gras Moon Pie" by Aaron Lane, Planet Radio, copyright March 7, 2011 for the
help).
Happy 2015!
Southern Smiles,
Casey Crow
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