Why are masks and headdresses used in carnivals?

Masks and headdresses allow us to be something other than what we really are. Like any costume, they conceal our try identity so that we can act as we please, at least for a short time. Elaborate masks and headdresses amp up the celebration and add to the festiveness. Mardi Gras (Fat Tuesday) is the day before Ash Wednesday, which is the beginning of Lent. During Lent, you behave yourself, sacrifice and contemplate the life of Christ, your own life and how you could be a better person. (That's the short version.) During Carnival, which begins on 12th night and lasts through Mardi Gras, you have an opportunity to work out your demons, your ya-yas, your mischief, you desires, etc. It is perhaps easier to do some of those things while "masked" as something or someone different. Then, by midnight on Mardi Gras, you've worked out all your wicked, evil ways and can settle down to the business of being a good Christian. Carnival is celebrated in the U.S. in New Orleans with some smaller ...  more