The celebration of Mardi Gras is a festive day, marking the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday. The French name Mardi Gras means Fat Tuesday, which is a day for eating all the fats in a home, in preparation for Lent. The celebration includes many festivities, such as parades, king cake, and community celebrations.

The history of Mardi Gras can be traced back to European celebrations in the 17th and 18th centuries. The connection to New Orleans dates back to 1699, when French explorer Jean Baptiste Le Moyne named an area of land “Pointe du Mardi Gras.” Jean Baptiste departed from France, and landed south of New Orleans, where he then realized it was the eve of the holiday, prompting the name. By 1857, Mardi Gras became an annual celebration, and also was declared a legal holiday in Louisiana in 1875.

The traditional colors of Mardi Gras are purple, green, and gold, with purple representing justice, green showing faith, and gold representing power. During the celebration, people often wear beads and masks. Beads are thrown from parade floats for people to wear, with an estimate of 25 million pounds thrown each year. The tradition of wearing masks during Mardi Gras is common amongst single people so they can socialize freely.

Mardi Gras is the final day of Carnival, marking the season of Lent. Lent is a 40 day period that represents the time Jesus spent fasting in preparation for Easter. During lent, it is tradition to give up something for 40 days, as well as not eating meat every Friday of the liturgical year. This is why people spend Fat Tuesday or Mardi Gras eating their favorite foods before giving something up.