New Orleans' Mardi Gras © www.neworleanscvb.com

 

New Orleans' Mardi Gras puts a twist on history, with more than two weeks of all-out merriment involving lavish balls, street parties and more than 70 extravagant parades in what's unabashedly billed as 'the greatest free show on Earth'. Hundreds of private parties, dances and masked balls are scheduled each year in the metropolitan area. The date of Mardi Gras falls 46 days before Easter - this is the final day and the climax of celebrations, which stop at midnight sharp, in observance of Lent. It is a day of flamboyant costumes and big parades, with a King and Queen elected each year to ride on the largest float. A distinctive tradition is 'throwing' - trinkets and gifts are thrown from passing floats into the crowd that can number in excess of a million. Mardi Gras is associated with a festival of merriment and abandonment, yet its origins are somewhat different. The word 'carnival' derives from the Latin 'farewell to meat' and was celebrated before the traditional abstinence of Lent. Mardi Gras comes from the French 'Fat Tuesday' the day when oil and other comestibles were used-up before Lent.

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