Did you know that the French Quarter in New Orleans, Louisiana, is known for its Mardi Gras Parades?
Mardi Gras is a festival celebration that marks the end of the pre-Lenten season and the beginning of Lent. Lent is a time of fasting and abstinence. Many countries celebrate this event, mainly those with large Roman Catholic populations. The festival takes place on a Tuesday every year which is also called Fat Tuesday. It falls on the day before the beginning of Lent, which is on Ash Wednesday. This year, Mardi Gras will celebrate with parades and parties on March 4th. The biggest celebration takes place in New Orleans, Louisiana.
The festivity goes back all the way to the 1600s. The first American Mardi Gras took place on March 3, 1699. French explorers Pierre Le Moyne d’Iberville and Sieur de Bienville landed near present day New Orleans, Louisiana. The explorers held a small celebration and named their landing site Point du Mardi Gras. Decades later, New Orleans and other French settlements began marking the holiday with street parties, masked balls, and dinners. Once the Spanish took control of New Orleans, they had abolished these rituals. The ban had remained in force until Louisiana became a United States of America state in 1812. In 1827, a group of students donned colorful costumes and danced through the streets of New Orleans. About ten years later, the first recorded Mardi Gras parade in New Orleans was held.
Mardi Gras is a heavily well known festival in certain parts of the world. New Orleans, Louisiana is definitely one of the most popular locations for Mardi Gras.
