Q: When does Mardi Gras start and end? The Carnival season always begins on Jan. 6, which is King’s Day (Feast of the Epiphany). Mardi Gras day (Fat Tuesday), however, is on a different day each year. Fat Tuesday changes every year because Easter Sunday is never on the same Sunday each year. Fat Tuesday is always the day before Ash Wednesday. Mardi Gras is French for Fat Tuesday. Like Ash Wednesday and Easter, Mardi Gras' date changes annually based on the Spring Equinox. Mardi Gras will always fall on the day before Ash Wednesday In 2025, Mardi Gras falls on Tuesday, March 4. Like Ash Wednesday and Easter, Mardi Gras' date changes depending on the Spring Equinox and can even be in a different month from year to year. Mardi Gras (UK: / ˌ m ɑːr d i ˈ ɡ r ɑː /, US: / ˈ m ɑːr d i ɡ r ɑː /; [1] [2] also known as Shrove Tuesday) is the final day of Carnival (also known as Shrovetide or Fastelavn); it thus falls on the day before the beginning of Lent on Ash Wednesday. [3] Mardi Gras Doesn’t Always Fall on the Same Date. Mardi Gras always falls on the Tuesday 47 days before Easter. But since Easter’s date changes year to year so does the date for Mardi Gras. Easter is determined as the first Sunday after the full moon following the first day of spring (20th of March 20th). Here are future dates for Mardi Gras: Mardi Gras 2025 falls on Tuesday, March 4, 2025 Nothing about Mardi Gras is predictable – not even the date. Unlike Christmas or the 4th of July which always fall on the same calendar day, the only thing you can count on for sure with Carnival is that Fat Tuesday will fall on, well, a Tuesday. Occurring on any Tuesday from February 3 through March 9, Mardi Gras is tied to Easter, which falls on the first Sunday after the full moon following the Spring Equinox. Because the day before Ash Wednesday, which marked the beginning of Lent, was a day of feasting, it came to be known as Fat Tuesday or, as the French would say, Mardi Gras. While New Orleans may be most known for Mardi Gras in the U.S. today, the tiny settlement of Fort Louis de la Mobile celebrated America’s very first Mardi Gras in 1703. Mardi Gras was celebrated in New Orleans soon after the city’s founding in 1718. The first recorded Mardi Gras street parade in New Orleans took place in 1837. This year, Mardi Gras will be celebrated on Tuesday, March 4, 2025 in the United States. How is the date of Mardi Gras determined each year? Mardi Gras, or “Fat Tuesday,” does not fall on the same day every year, but it is always the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday and the beginning of Lent. Why Mardi Gras is celebrated, when Fat Tuesday 2025 takes place and more. French for “Fat Tuesday,” Mardi Gras falls on the day Fat Tuesday is always 47 days before Easter. In 2025 Fat Tuesday, often seen as the final burst of excitement before the solemn preparations for Easter, falls on March 4 this year. It always occurs the day before Ash Wednesday. When is Ash Wednesday Mardi Gras Day is March 4, 2025. Fat Tuesday is the last day of the Carnival season as it always falls the day before Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent. Fat Tuesday will fall on February 16, 2021. Incidentally, Mardi Gras will fall on these two dates only once in a lifetime, each occurring roughly once every 100 to 150 years. Fat Tuesday, regarded as the last celebration before the start of Lent leading up to Easter, will take place on March 4 this year, according to the Mardi Gras New Orleans website. It always falls Mardi Gras in New Orleans, also known as Carnival, has been in full swing since Jan. 6 and will close with a grand, final celebration on March 4, better known as Fat Tuesday. Originating from Ash Wednesday is always 46 days before Easter, and Fat Tuesday is always the day before Ash Wednesday. Easter can fall on any Sunday from March 23 to April 25, with the exact date to coincide with the first Sunday after the full moon following a spring equinox. But nothing compared to riding on a float with the Krewe of Orpheus during an Afar Mardi Gras Experience. The Mardi Gras date always varies a little, and in 2025, it will fall on Tuesday, March 4, 2025. (In 2026, it’s much earlier, landing on February 17; in 2027, it’s even earlier, February 9.) Mardi Gras, regarded as the last celebration before the start of Lent leading up to Easter, will take place on March 4 this year, according to the Mardi Gras New Orleans website. It always falls Some people refer to Carnival and Mardi Gras interchangeably, although Carnival technically stretches the whole season from January 6th to Fat Tuesday, while Mardi Gras is Fat Tuesday itself. No matter when Fat Tuesday falls in a given year, there is an entire Carnival season leading up to it, filled with weeks of parades, parties, and When is Mardi Gras? In 2025, Mardi Gras falls on Tuesday, March 4. Mardi Gras will always fall on the day before Ash Wednesday, which is always about seven weeks before Easter.
Articles and news, personal stories, interviews with experts.
Photos from events, contest for the best costume, videos from master classes.
![]() | ![]() |
![]() | ![]() |
![]() | |
![]() | ![]() |
![]() | ![]() |
![]() | ![]() |