Mardi Gras
Mardi Gras 2014 is on March 4. It is always on a Tuesday.
The French are responsible for bringing the tradition of Mardi Gras to New Orleans. The first Mardi Gras parade in America was held in Mobile, Alabama in 1711. The first floats rolled in 1835, and in 1871, parade-goers were able to catch the first “throws.” Here is how the tradition of the baby in the King Cake got started. One of the krewes put a golden bean in a cake, and whoever got the piece of cake with the bean became the queen of the parade.
Mardi Gras is French for "Fat Tuesday". The name comes from the ancient custom of parading a fat ox through Paris on this day. The ox was to remind the people that they were not allowed to eat meat during Lent. Lent runs from Ash Wednesday thru Easter Sunday.
Mardi Gras moves. It can be anywhere between February 3rd and March 9th. The date depends on when Easter falls.
French people who came to the United States brought the custom of Mardi Gras with them. The most famous festival in the US (and perhaps the world) is at New Orleans in Louisiana.
But Mardi Gras parades happen throughout the world. Biloxi in Mississipi, Rio de Janeiro in Brazil, Nice in France, Binche in Belgium and Viareggio in Italy are just a few examples.
The Tuesday that Mardi Gras falls on is also known as Shrove Tuesday. The name comes from the custom of confessing on the day before lent. Shrove means "to be forgiven one's sins."
The French are responsible for bringing the tradition of Mardi Gras to New Orleans. The first Mardi Gras parade in America was held in Mobile, Alabama in 1711. The first floats rolled in 1835, and in 1871, parade-goers were able to catch the first “throws.” Here is how the tradition of the baby in the King Cake got started. One of the krewes put a golden bean in a cake, and whoever got the piece of cake with the bean became the queen of the parade.
Mardi Gras is French for "Fat Tuesday". The name comes from the ancient custom of parading a fat ox through Paris on this day. The ox was to remind the people that they were not allowed to eat meat during Lent. Lent runs from Ash Wednesday thru Easter Sunday.
Mardi Gras moves. It can be anywhere between February 3rd and March 9th. The date depends on when Easter falls.
French people who came to the United States brought the custom of Mardi Gras with them. The most famous festival in the US (and perhaps the world) is at New Orleans in Louisiana.
But Mardi Gras parades happen throughout the world. Biloxi in Mississipi, Rio de Janeiro in Brazil, Nice in France, Binche in Belgium and Viareggio in Italy are just a few examples.
The Tuesday that Mardi Gras falls on is also known as Shrove Tuesday. The name comes from the custom of confessing on the day before lent. Shrove means "to be forgiven one's sins."
