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Every year, as winter fades and spring approaches, the streets of New Orleans explode with color, music, and celebration. Mardi Gras, the grandest festival in Louisiana, is famous for its parades, beads, masked revelers, and deep cultural traditions. But how did this extravagant celebration come to be? In the early 1740s, Louisiana's governor, the Marquis de Vaudreuil, established elegant society balls, which became the model for the New Orleans Mardi Gras balls of today. The earliest reference to Mardi Gras "Carnival" appears in a 1781 report to the Spanish colonial governing body. Rex, one of the oldest Mardi Gras krewes, has been participating in parades since 1872 and established purple, gold and green as the iconic Mardi Gras colors. Louisiana is the only state in which LAKE CHARLES, La. (KPLC) - From bulls parading down streets to the first Krewe of Krewes parade, Southwest Louisiana has a storied history when it comes to Mardi Gras. The earliest recorded Mardi Gras celebration in Southwest Louisiana was in 1882. However, the festivities died down soon after as Mardi Gras 2025 is almost here! Not sure about you, but we are ready to laissez les bons temps rouler with parties, parades, and all sorts of fun masks, beads, and more in those signature shades of gold, green, and purple. But, before you start feasting on that king cake and chicken-andouille gumbo When did Mardi Gras start in America? The very first American Mardi Gras celebration took place in March 1699 after two French settlers landed near present-day New Orleans and brought their traditions with them. The French colonists who followed over the proceeding decades introduced the "Galette des Rois," or king cake, which is how it became Mardi Gras or Fat Tuesday, which takes place March 4, marks the party’s climax and the end of Carnival Season on the Gulf Coast. The conclusion falls the day before Ash Wednesday and is seen as a final day of feasting and revelry before the solemnity of Lent. Mardi Gras Parades. For most people, parades, from the extravagant superkrewe productions in New Orleans to the makeshift processions in neighborhoods and small towns, are synonymous with Mardi Gras. With themes drawn from myth, legend, popular culture, politics, and other sources, parades are designed to entertain, amuse, awe, and inspire viewers. There is no pinpointing the origins of the celebration known today as Carnival or Mardi Gras. Indeed, because its most elemental characteristics — drinking and feasting, dancing and music, masks and costumes — extend back into the mists of time, there’s no tidy way to connect the dots between prehistoric cave paintings of dancing stick-like figures wearing animal masks and the modern pre Mardi Gras History. Mardi Gras was brought to Louisiana by early French settlers. The first record of the holiday was in Louisiana in 1699. The starting date of festivities in New Orleans is unknown, but an account from 1743 notes that the custom of Carnival balls was already established by that date. French for Fat Tuesday, Mardi Gras is always on the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday. This year it will be held on Tuesday Feb. 13. Mardi Gras is only one day but the Mardi Gras season, also known as the carnival season, can last for weeks culminating on Fat Tuesday. Many people assume that New Orleans is the birthplace of Mardi Gras. However, many LAKE CHARLES, La. (KPLC) - From bulls parading down streets to the first Krewe of Krewes parade, Southwest Louisiana has a storied history when it comes to Mardi Gras. The earliest recorded Mardi Gras celebration in Southwest Louisiana was in 1882. However, the festivities died down soon after as During Mardi Gras, Rustin went down to New Orleans and decided he loved it there. The next week he purchased a house on St. Charles Avenue right across from the Mardi Gras parade route. Unfortunately, Rustin did not get an appraisal and learned later that he significantly overpaid for the property. How Did Mardi Gras Start. Mardi Gras, also called Carnival, is a festive season that occurs before the Christian season of Lent. The word “mardi” means “fat” in French, and “gras” means “fatty.” Mardi Gras is thus a celebration of fat and indulgence before the period of fasting and abstinence that Lent represents. That is, unless it's Fat Tuesday, otherwise known as Mardi Gras! Mardi Gras is a celebration held every year on the Tuesday before the Christian holy day known as Ash Wednesday. Mardi Gras is celebrated around the world and, in some places, is known as Carnival. In the United States, Mardi Gras is associated primarily with New Orleans. Held in multiple communities across South Louisiana, Cajun Mardi Gras takes place on Fat Tuesday, or the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday. This year, the raucous celebration falls on March 4. It’s the time of the year again: Mardi Gras. The celebration that starts the Lenten season is held around the world, but the most famous celebration is in New Orleans, Louisiana. The question Mardi Gras is a festive day celebrated in France on Shrove Tuesday (the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday), which marks the close of the pre-Lenten season. The French name Mardi Gras means Fat Tuesday, from the custom of using all the fats in the home before Lent. Mardi Gras 2025 is almost here! Not sure about you, but we are ready to laissez les bons temps rouler with parties, parades, and all sorts of fun masks, beads, and more in those signature shades of gold, green, and purple. But, before you start feasting on that king cake and chicken-andouille gumbo Of the hundreds of Louisiana festivals, none tops Mardi Gras. Spectacular parades, unbelievable costumes, music, dancing, food, drink — take your pick of places to indulge and enjoy. The biggest celebration occurs in New Orleans , but nearly every community in the state has its own version of the annual party.
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