Mardi Gras - The biggest party on earth
Each year, more than four million people travel to New Orleans, Louisiana from around the world to be part of what is often referred to as the “greatest free party on Earth.”
Mardi Gras, also called Carnival in some countries, is celebrated internationally, although many people only think of it as being in New Orleans. The celebration in New Orleans is the most well known. In January, the city of New Orleans starts a variety of festivities that culminate with Mardi Gras Day, or Fat Tuesday. Fat Tuesday is the day before Ash Wednesday and Lent. For about two weeks before Fat Tuesday, residents and visitors enjoy dozens of parades with imaginative floats and partiers wearing colorful costumes and masks. The participants toss colored beads and other trinkets into the cheering crowds. The parties continue into the night and include New Orleans music and Cajun and Creole food.
Mardi Gras is often associated with partying, drinking, and racy and rowdy behavior. However, it is surprising to know the history behind the celebration and the religious roots behind it. Festivities start in New Orleans each year on January 6, the Twelfth Night feast of the Epiphany. This is the day that the three kings first visited Jesus Christ. Mardi Gras is French for Fat Tuesday and is the day-long highlight of the season. While Mardi Gras most certainly has pagan, pre-Christian origins, the Roman Catholic Church legitimized the festival as a brief celebration before the season of Lent. Mardi Gras Day, a legal holiday in New Orleans, is set to occur forty-six days (the 40 days of lent plus six Sundays) before Easter and can come as early as February 3 or as late as March 9.
It is believed that Mardi Gras was first celebrated in the 1600s although the first modern parade was held in 1857. A group called the Mystik Krewe of Comus (later know simply as the Krewes) started having parades and balls to celebrate. Today, Mardi Gras is one of the world’s greatest tourist attractions, drawing millions from around the world for the days leading up to Fat Tuesday. Hotels in the metro area (particularly in the historic French Quarter) are booked months, even years, in advance. All the jazz, blues and Dixieland bands in the state congregate in New Orleans to accompany the festivities on street corners and at bars, hotels, parties and fancy masked balls.
A highlight of the festivities are the parades, usually seventy or more, leading up to Fat Tuesday. The parades boast of having the most imaginative themes and outrageous costumes in the world. The parades are held in the four parish area of Orleans, Jefferson, St. Tammany, and St. Bernard.
After the devastation of Hurricane Katrina on August 29, 2005, many wondered what would happen to Mardi Gras in 2006. Thankfully, the French Quarter and many other famous attractions came through the hurricane with little damage. A scaled-back celebration was held, but it was held all the same.
For more information about Mardi Gras, do some research online.