Why does New Orleans celebrate Mardi Gras? Although it is a Christian holiday now, Mardi Gras is a holiday that dates back thousands of years to pagan spring and fertility rites, according to the Learn about the origins, meaning and customs of Mardi Gras, a Christian holiday and cultural phenomenon that dates back to pagan spring and fertility rites. Find out how Mardi Gras is celebrated in different countries and regions, especially in New Orleans, Brazil and Venice. Mardi Gras, as a celebration of life before the more-somber occasion of Ash Wednesday, nearly always involves the use of masks and costumes by its participants, and the most popular celebratory colors are purple, green, and gold. Mardi Gras is the last and "biggest day of celebration," according to Mardi Gras New Orleans. What are some other names for Mardi Gras? Fat Tuesday, Shrove Tuesday, the end of Carnival. In the United States the principal Carnival celebration is in New Orleans, Louisiana.The Carnival season there opens on Twelfth Night (also called Epiphany, which is observed on January 6) and climaxes with the Mardi Gras festivities commencing 10 days before Shrove Tuesday. Mardi Gras is truly a citywide celebration, and you’ll find everything from quirky, satirical floats pulled by horses in Krewe du Vieux (warning: the themes of this parade are definitely risque and meant for adults only), to the North Side Skull and Bones Gang who roam the streets of the Treme beginning at dawn every Mardi Gras morning. The holiday of Mardi Gras is celebrated in southern Louisiana, including the city of New Orleans.Celebrations are concentrated for about two weeks before and through Shrove Tuesday, the day before Ash Wednesday (the start of lent in the Western Christian tradition). What does Mardi Gras celebrate? Mardi Gras celebrates the last day of Carnival before Lent, but its roots go all the way back to pagan spring festivals thousands of years ago. The day has similarities to the raucous Roman festivals of Saturnalia and Lupercalia. Because the whole point of Mardi Gras is to enjoy life's excesses before Lent begins, Creole and Cajun dishes such as jambalaya, gumbo, and red beans and rice are a major part of the celebration. And Mardi Gras just wouldn’t be Mardi Gras without king cake, an oval pastry with a sugary icing in Mardi Gras colors of purple, green and gold. 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 a New Orleanian symbol. Click on the Mardi Gras krewes below for further information about the krewe and to see their usual route for each parade. Please note: Events and activities are subject to change without notice. Stay tuned to the site for further info. Mardi Gras may be an ancient celebration but there's always something new to discover. As the krewes announce their 2025 themes, throws and celebrity monarchs and The Mardi Gras Celebration will open with food and specialty vendors and children’s activities at 11:00 a.m. There will be two vendor areas again this year so people will have plenty of food, arts and crafts and other specialty items to enjoy before the parade. The Mardi Gras Parade will roll out at 2:00 p.m. from Court Street. By the late 1830s, New Orleans held street processions of maskers with carriages and horseback riders to celebrate Mardi Gras. Dazzling gaslight torches, or " flambeaux , " lit the way for the krewe's members and lent each event an exciting air of romance and festivity. Click on the Mardi Gras krewes below for further information about the krewe and to see their usual route for each parade. Please note: Events and activities are subject to change without notice. Stay tuned to the site for further info. The all-male krewe has been staging Mardi Gras events in New Orleans since 1872 and are the ones who started the tradition of using the holiday’s famous colors: yellow, purple, and green.
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