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Mardi Gras is a Christian holiday and popular cultural phenomenon that dates back thousands of years to pagan spring and fertility rites. It's most famously celebrated with parades in New Orleans Of all the American cities to throw one last celebration before Lent, New Orleans is the best known, thanks to its full-throated carnival on “Fat Tuesday,” or Mardi Gras. Culture Trip takes a look at the traditions and quirks of this famous festival to give you a better understanding of just how integral it is to Louisiana culture. 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. In places like New Orleans, Mardi Gras is not just a holiday; it is a celebration of the city’s unique cultural heritage. New Orleans has long been a melting pot of different cultures, including French, Spanish, African, and Creole influences. Mardi Gras reflects this diversity through its music, food, art, and traditions. Mardi Gras History and Traditions Learn about the famed celebration's cultural roots and traditions. Mardi Gras is so much more special when you understand what you’re celebrating and what each tradition means to the generations of parade-goers who have stood on parade routes before you. 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. Mardi Gras remains a big part of the culture in Mobile, Alabama, where two organizations oversee many of its balls and other events. Here, the Mobile Carnival Association's king and queen greet French-Canadian explorer Pierre Le Moyne d’Iberville arrived in what is now modern day Mobile, Alabama on Fat Tuesday, 1699. He named the location Point du Mardi Gras and threw a little party. Why is Mardi Gras celebrated? Mardi Gras is celebrated in many countries around the world, though mainly in places with large Roman Catholic populations. It's believed that Mardi Gras emerged from the wild ancient Roman festivals of Saturnalia and Lupercalia. These pagan celebrations involved days of feasting, masquerading, dancing, and drinking. The origins of Mardi Gras. Mardi Gras traces its roots to ancient Roman festivals like Saturnalia, which involved feasting and revelry. With the advent of Christianity, these traditions were adapted into Carnival—a period of indulgence before the austerity of Lent. Mardi Gras specifically refers to the day before Ash Wednesday, when people The costumes and masks not only add to the visual spectacle of Mardi Gras but also serve as a means of self-expression and celebration of creativity. Mardi Gras Beads and Throws. No Mardi Gras experience would be complete without the iconic tradition of catching beads and other throws from the parade floats. After growing up in New Orleans, he’s spent the past few years researching his hometown’s history and culture. Batiste and other early Mardi Gras Indians could trace branches of their family Mardi Gras—also known as “Fat Tuesday”—is a time of lively parades, colorful beads, and festive music. But beyond the party atmosphere, this celebration has deep roots in history and faith. While Mardi Gras is celebrated in various forms around the world, it is most famously associated with New Orleans, Louisiana. Over the centuries, Mardi Gras in New Orleans has evolved into a grand and extravagant celebration, deeply rooted in the city’s unique blend of French, African, Spanish, and Caribbean cultures. The origins of Mardi Gras. Mardi Gras traces its roots to ancient Roman festivals like Saturnalia, which involved feasting and revelry. With the advent of Christianity, these traditions were adapted into Carnival—a period of indulgence before the austerity of Lent. Mardi Gras specifically refers to the day before Ash Wednesday, when people 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). 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] Get ready for Mobile Mardi Gras with the 2025 parade schedule, routes, festive recipes, local history, culture and more. The incident was so infamous it generated T-shirts saying things like, “I went to the ’99 Mardi Gras and survived” or “I went to the ’99 Mardi Gras and was maced by the police,” he said. Community groups met for a whole year after that to talk about how to make Mardi Gras safer. Those changes included doing away with the Tuesday Wear your best Mardi Gras costume to bar hop at participating locales like The Blind Pig Pub, Burnside’s Tavern, Dizzy Rooster, The Lodge, Peckerheads, and Thirsty’s. Your $18 ticket grants you beads, a color-changing cup for your libations, cover at the bars, and discounts on food + drink specials.
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Photos from events, contest for the best costume, videos from master classes.
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