Fête de Cadeau

Fête de Cadeau
Event Information
Location	New Orleans
Date(s)	November, 1919 November, 2013
Participants	Davina Claire Witches of New Orleans
Description	The witches give a gift to the city in hopes that the favor will be returned.

Fête de Cadeau is a day celebrated by the witches of New Orleans in which they give a gift to the city in hopes that it will return the favor. The celebration of Fête de Cadeau has been celebrated since the early 20th century by the witches of New Orleans. Along with the celebration of Fête de Cadeau, the people of New Orleans also celebrate 'Axeman's Jazz', a festival where people dress up as ax murderers and play Jazz music as loud as possible, in respect for the Axeman of 1919.

History

Vincent: "What? The year was 1919, and after terrorizing the city for months with an actual ax, he writes a letter to the Times-Picayune. Claims he's a demon. He says he's gonna kill thousands the next night. The only way he wouldn't was if every house in the city threw a party and played jazz as loud as it could. Every single house in the city did. No one died! Haha! Now, some people think it was a vampire. He was actually a witch."

Camille: "How do you know he's a witch?"

Vincent: "Oh, he's a witch. The day he chose was Fête de Cadeau. That's the day that every witch gives a gift to the city in hopes that the city gives one back. Now, Axeman's "idea" of gift was not murdering people for a day, and in return?"

— The Axeman's Letter

On the day before Fête de Cadeau in 1919, the famous ax murderer, who had been terrorizing New Orleans for months, wrote a letter to the local newspaper. In the letter, he detailed his plans to kill thousands the next night, on Fête de Cadeau, unless the people of New Orleans played Jazz music as loud as they could. Every house played Jazz music and in return, nobody died. The witches believe that the Axeman's version of a 'gift to the city' is not murdering anybody, and in return, New Orleans threw him the biggest party the city had ever seen. Many of the people believed that the Axeman was a demon, according to Vincent he was a witch.

Throughout The Originals Series

In The Axeman's Letter, Davina hosts her first Fête de Cadeau as Regent. Hours before the actual celebration, Davina summons Jackson and Hayley to Lafayette Cemetery to give their opinions on the ribbon she will be wearing. Hayley comments that Davina is essentially using the wolves as 'slaves' to which she is shocked. During the festival, Davina addresses the witches and starts the celebration. People wait in line to offer their gifts to the Ancestors while a goat is brought to

Witches offer gifts to the Ancestors

Davina, presumably, Davina must slaughter the animal. Davina is appalled by what she is expected to do and takes a minute to gather herself, confiding in Hayley that she loves goats and the only reason she is wearing the ribbon is because former Regent, Josephine, wore one just like it. Davina also tells Hayley that she asked the Ancestors to grant her access to the magic needed to lift the crescent curse and as it's Fête de Cadeau, they agreed, stating that using the wolves as slaves is something they would of done previously and she wants to lead the covens away from the old ways.

Trivia

• "Fête de Cadeau" means "Gift celebration" in French.
• By giving a gift to the city the witches are actually giving a gift to the Ancestors.
• Traditionally, the witches give animals such as goats and pigs as presents.
• As Regent, Josephine would wear a blue or orange ribbon around her neck when officiating the ceremony.
  • Davina wore a blue ribbon during her first Fête de Cadeau, following in the footsteps of former Regent Josephine.
• Fête de Cadeau is traditionally celebrated in November, along with Axeman's Jazz.
• Davina gave her gift to the Ancestors and in return, they granted her the magic needed to lift the crescent curse.

See also

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