On March 2, 1699, French-Canadian explorer Jean Baptiste Le Moyne Sieur de Bienville arrived at a plot of ground 60 miles directly south of New Orleans, and named it "Pointe du Mardi Gras" when his men realized it was the eve of the festive holiday. Bienville also established "Fort Louis de la Louisiane" (which is now Mobile) in 1702. Some point to 1699 as year the first American Mardi Gras was held, when French explorers Pierre Le Moyne d’Iberville and Sieur de Bienville landed about 60 miles south of present-day New Orleans The first American Mardi Gras took place on March 3, 1699, when French explorers Pierre Le Moyne d’Iberville and Sieur de Bienville landed near present-day New Orleans, Louisiana. They held a The first record of Mardi Gras being celebrated in Louisiana was at the mouth of the Mississippi River in what is now lower Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana, on March 2, 1699. Iberville , Bienville , and their men celebrated it as part of an observance of Catholic practice. Those who believe New Orleans gets the crown say the first Mardi Gras took place on March 3, 1699, when French explorers Bienville and Iberville put down stakes on the west bank of the Mississippi River, about 60 miles downriver from the site of what would become the Crescent City. Mardi Gras arrived on March 3, 1699, along with French explorer Pierre Le Moyne d'Iberville. France commissioned the 38-year-old French Canadian to find and explore the Mississippi river from its On March 2, 1699, French-Canadian explorer Jean Baptiste Le Moyne Sieur de Bienville arrived at a plot of ground 60 miles directly south of New Orleans, and named it “Pointe du Mardi Gras” when his men realized it was the eve of the festive holiday. By the late 1830s, New Orleans held street processions of maskers with carriages and horseback riders to celebrate Mardi Gras. Dazzling The expedition entered the mouth of the Mississippi River on March 2, 1699, and proceeded upstream to a place on the east bank about 60 miles downriver from where New Orleans is today. The next day was Mardi Gras, so they named the place Point du Mardi Gras. The first American Mardi Gras was celebrated in 1699 near present-day New Orleans. As the years passed, the celebration evolved, becoming a defining feature of New Orleans culture. Historians at the Louisiana State Museum say Mardi Gras first arrived on U.S. soil in 1699, when French-Canadian explorer Pierre Le Moyne d’Iberville celebrated and his men landed 60 miles south Across the Mississippi River from this marker is historic Bayou Mardi Gras, oldest place-name of other than Indian origin in the whole vast Mississippi River Valley *** On Tuesday 3 March 1699 Pierre le Moyne, Sieur D'Iberville, with his companions camped where the bayou- then 135 feet wide- entered the river. I'm not saying we stood in the exact muddy spot where Iberville, his kid brother Bienville, and other French Canadian explorers spent Mardi Gras in 1699. But I bet we got within field goal range. Mardi Gras Past and Present Traditions from the past that live on today. Mardi Gras has been celebrated in New Orleans since the explorer Iberville first set foot here on Mardi Gras Day 1699. In French colonial days, wealthy members of Creole society threw lavish Mardi Gras balls from Twelfth Night (Jan. 6) to Fat Tuesday Eve. The two explorers, arriving first at Dauphin Island in what is now Alabama, navigated the mouth of the Mississippi River (charted by Cavelier de La Salle, 1682), sailed upstream, and on March 3, 1699, celebrated, naming the spot Pointe du Mardi Gras 60 miles downriver from the wilderness that would become New Orleans. The very first Mardi Gras parade in New Orleans was held in 1837. However, the first American celebration of Mardi Gras happened in 1699 near where New Orleans is now. The first use of the words "Mardi Gras" in Louisiana was in 1699, when Pierre le Moyne, Sieur d'Iberville, named a bend in the river "Pointe du Mardi Gras," in honor of that year's Fat Tuesday. However, Carnival was rarely celebrated in the new colony—the early people of the Big Easy found life in the mud-caked huts and thatched roofs of New Mardi Gras arrived in North America as a French Catholic tradition with the Le Moyne brothers, who came to defend France's claim on Louisiana. The very first American Mardi Gras took place on March 3, 1699, when French explorers Pierre Le Moyne d'Iberville and Sieur de Bienville landed near present-day New Orleans. They held a small celebration The Mardi Gras traditions show off New Orleans’ rich culture. Get ready to be wowed by the creativity and passion that make this celebration so special! The Rich History Behind Mardi Gras Celebrations. The history of Mardi Gras is a captivating story that spans centuries and continents. It started as a simple feast before Lent in medieval Europe. Since 1699, when Pierre Le Moyne, Sieur d'Iberville celebrated his arrival at the mouth of the Mississippi on Shrove Tuesday, Mardi Gras has been integrally linked to Louisiana's cultural heritage. Parades, Balls, and the Courir du Mardi Gras—are explored in this online exhibition. On March 2, 1699, French-Canadian explorer Jean Baptiste Le Moyne Sieur de Bienville arrived at a plot of ground 60 miles directly south of New Orleans, and named it "Pointe du Mardi Gras" when his men realized it was the eve of the festive holiday. Bienville also established "Fort Louis de la Louisiane" (which is now Mobile) in 1702.
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