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. Most visitors plan to arrive no later than the Saturday prior to Mardi Gras day and stay through Ash Wednesday. Mardi Gras is the final day before Lent, the season of preparation for Easter. Here are the dates of Mardi Gras next year and in future years: Mardi Gras 2018 Mardi Gras consistently falls on the day before Ash Wednesday, which marks the beginning of Lent in the Western Christian tradition. This festival, known as Fat Tuesday, concludes the Carnival season that kicks off on January 6, the Feast of the Epiphany. Dates for Mardi Gras vary each year since they depend on the timing of Easter. The first year that Mardi Gras was celebrated on a grand scale in Galveston was 1871 with the emergence of two rival Mardi Gras societies, or "Krewes" called the Knights of Momus (known only by the initials "K.O.M.") and the Knights of Myth, both of which devised night parades, masked balls, exquisite costumes and elaborate invitations. But Mardi Gras is an entire season, often called Carnival. It begins 12 days after Christmas on Jan. 6 and lasts until Fat Tuesday, or the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday. When is 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. Mardi Gras is the last and "biggest day of celebration," according to Mardi Gras New Orleans. When is Mardi Gras? In 2025, Mardi Gras falls on Tuesday, March 4. 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. 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. 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. Mardi Gras falls on a different Tuesday each year based on Easter’s date, which determines the date of Ash Wednesday. This year, Mardi Gras is Tuesday, March 4. Mardi Gras day is the time to While Easter will always be on a Sunday, what day it occurs on changes each year. Here's why. When is Mardi Gras? Fat Tuesday, which translates to Mardi Gras in French, is on Tuesday, March 4 New Orleans rules the roost when it comes to all things Mardi Gras, celebrated in elaborate style each year on Fat Tuesday – March 4 this year — the day before Ash Wednesday. However, for So, any given year, Mardi Gras will fall on any Tuesday between Feb. 3 and March 9. Incidentally, Mardi Gras will fall on these two dates only once in a lifetime, each occurring roughly once every As Shrove Tuesday is the day before Ash Wednesday, and Ash Wednesday falls 46 days before Easter, meaning that Mardi Gras can fall in either February or March. In 2025 Easter Sunday falls on April 20. 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. The official start of Carnival Season is Twelfth Night, January 6. Book your hotel room now and Reserve your Mardi Gras package. Want to know more about Mardi Gras in New Orleans? Mardi Gras and Fat Tuesday are the same day, and they take place on March 4 in 2025. Mardi Gras marks the end of the pre-Lenten season. Fat Tuesday is a day of feasting before the fasting of Lent It has been tradition in Mobile to celebrate Joe Cain Day on the Sunday before Fat Tuesday since 1967. It’s a celebration of the modern Mardi Gras legendary founder, Joe Cain, who first marched Mardi Gras, also known as Fat Tuesday, is on Tuesday, March 4 this year. Mardi Gras is French for Fat Tuesday. Like Ash Wednesday and Easter, Mardi Gras' date changes annually based on the Spring Mardi Gras marks the last day before Lent, a period of fasting and reflection for many Christians. Originating in Europe, it was brought to America by French settlers. Today, New Orleans is famous for its grand Mardi Gras festivities, attracting millions of visitors each year.
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