For Mardi Gras in New Orleans, see New Orleans Mardi Gras. For other carnival season celebrations see the article on Carnival. For the 1972 album, see Mardi Gras (album). For the British extortionist known as the "Mardi Gra bomber" see Edgar Pearce.

Mardi Gras (French for "Fat Tuesday") is the day before Ash Wednesday, and is also called "Shrove Tuesday" or "Pancake Day". It is the final day of Carnival (English:IPA: /kaɹnɨvəl/ and Romance languages:IPA: /karnaval/). It is a celebration that is held just before the beginning of the Christian liturgical season of Lent. The feast should not be confused with the Polish Fat Thursday.

Dates

The date can vary from February 3 to March 9 in non-leap years or February 4 to March 9 in leap years. Like Lent, the date is dependent on that of Easter.

Mardi Gras falls on the following dates in the following years:

• 2007 – February 20
• 2008 – February 5
• 2009 – February 24
• 2010 – February 16
• 2011 – March 8
• 2012 – February 21
• 2013 – February 12
• 2014 – March 4

Locations

Perhaps the cities most famous for their Mardi Gras celebrations include Rio de Janeiro, Venice, Bahia, New Orleans . Many other places have important Mardi Gras celebrations as well. The carnival is an important celebration in most of Europe, and in many parts of Latin America and the Caribbean.

United States

While not observed nationally throughout the United States, a number of cities and regions in the country have notable celebrations.

Mardi Gras arrived in North America with the LeMoyne brothers, Iberville and Bienville, in the late 17th century, when King Louis XIV sent the pair to defend France's claim on the territory of Louisiana, which included Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana.

The explorers eventually found the mouth of the Mississippi River, sailed a while upstream and named the spot Point du Mardi Gras (Mardi Gras Point). The traditional Catholic celebration ensued leading to what many

Carnival celebrations became an annual event highlighted by lavish balls and masked spectacles. Some were small, private parties with select guest lists, while others were raucous, public affairs.

Recently Mardi Gras has taken root in several major cities in the USA as the event contributes to help local economies bring revenues.

Louisiana

New Orleans

Main article: New Orleans Mardi Gras

New Orleans Mardi Gras is particularly well-known, often called "the greatest free show on earth". The celebrations draw many tourists to the city in addition to the celebrating locals for the parties and parades.

Mardi Gras came to New Orleans with the earliest French settlers. New Orleans developed new traditions, including Krewes such as the Krewe du Vieux, the Zulu Social Aid & Pleasure Club, and the famous Rex parade, in addition to Mardi Gras Indians and king cake parties.

There are as many as 60 Krewes that have parades in the greater New Orleans area. Officially, the Mardi Gras season, more properly called Carnival, starts at the end of the twelfth day of Christmas. Most parades, balls and other festivities occur on weeknights and weekends in the 2-week period before Mardi Gras Day. Though each parade is unique, there are certain common ingredients: 1) either a King or Queen who reigns over the parade, picked from the Krewe membership; 2) gaily colored floats, ridden by Krewe members, who throw various items, including beads, doubloons with the Krewe emblem and often, that year's parade's theme, and assorted other fun items; 3) marching bands, usually from high schools and universities, but often other invited guest bands.

Particularly since the inception of the larger parade organizations (sometimes called "super krewes") such as Bacchus and Endymion, it has become fashionable to invite Hollywood and other celebrities to act as Grand Marshals for parades.

Lafayette

Lafayette, Louisiana is home to a large Mardi Gras celebration. It is a family oriented event lacking the perceived decadence of its New Orleans cousin, but not the fun. Lafayette is geographically the heart of Cajun Country, and as such draws Cajuns and Creoles from all of the surrounding area to participate in Mardi Gras festivities. Many prominent Hollywood celebrities serve as Grand Marshals. Visitors enjoy the Cajun hospitality and cuisine. Lafayette's population is approximately 90% Catholic which contributes to the popularity of Mardi Gras.

Elsewhere in Louisiana

Mardi Gras is a legal holiday in Louisiana. Other places in the Greater New Orleans Metro Area also have celebrations; notably the suburb of Metairie, Louisiana, La Place and Chalmette, Louisiana has large parades. Without the restrictions on commercial ties to parades of Orleans Parish, there is much advertising and trademark placements on the parades in Metairie. Metairie parades also

Houma, Louisiana hosts a significant Mardi Gras celebration.

In parts of the Cajun country of southwestern Louisiana, the traditional Courir du Mardi Gras (French - Running of the Mardi Gras) is still run, sometimes by maskers on horseback led by "Le Capitaine" who gather ingredients for making the communal meal (usually a gumbo). The townspeople will gather in costume and move from home to home requesting ingredients for the night's meal. The requested homeowner may comply with their wishes, usually by giving some form of vegetable or live animal, such as a chicken or pig, to the members of the run. The homeowner will often release the animal and make the runners catch it. In many cases, if the homeowner refuses to give an ingredient, the runners will steal one. These Courir can be witnessed in Church Point, Louisiana, Eunice, Louisiana, Mamou, Louisiana, Ville Platte, Louisiana, and Elton, Louisiana. The costumes used in these events are often homemade, employing sheets, paints, and frequently masks of wire mesh, as well as traditional conical hats known as capuchons.

Many small towns and cities throughout southern Louisiana have Mardi Gras parades in the weeks leading up to Mardi Gras day, and particularly on that day.

There are also Mardi Gras parades in Northern Louisiana in Shreveport, Louisiana by the Krewe of Centaur and the Krewe of Gemini and in Monroe, Louisiana and West Monroe, Louisiana by the Krewe of Janus. Lake Charles, in southwest Louisiana, hosts a Krewe of Krewes parade, which is the second largest parade in the state. It also hosts parades for children and even pets.

Alexandria, Louisiana also celebrates with parades and days of celebration.

Mardi Gras is one of only three exceptions to against wearing hoods and masks in public, the other two being Halloween and religious beliefs.

Traditional Mardi Gras' in Louisiana generally do not throw moon pies as found in Alabama Mardi Gras celebrations.

Mobile

Mobile, Alabama has a long tradition of observing Mardi Gras. Celebration of Mardi Gras in Mobile dates back to 1703. Celebrations were halted with the American Civil War, but were revived with a parade by Joe Cain in 1866, whose memory is still honored each Carnival. The Mobile Mardi Gras season is always concluded by the Order of Myths parade, produced by the society of the same name. This is a special honor, because the 'double-O M's' are one of the oldest continuously parading Mardi Gras society in America. Throughout each parade, mystic maskers throw trinkets, beads, candy, coins and Moon Pies, a sweet baked good that combines a graham cracker like crust with marshmallow and is then covered in a flavored frosting. On February 28, 2006, Mobile had what is believed to be the largest Mardi Gras celebration in its history with more than 244,000 revelers packing the downtown area on Fat Tuesday.

Pensacola

Pensacola, Florida hosts a Mardi Gras Celebration. The Pensacola celebrations also use Moon Pies in combination with beads, coins, and small candies. Pensacola holds two Mardi Gras parades a year. A smaller parade is held on the Friday night before Mardi Gras with the much larger Pensacola Grand Mardi Gras Parade held on Saturday during the day. The surrounding island cities also hold their own parades.

Galveston

Galveston, Texas is home to a notable Mardi Gras festival, an Island tradition begun in 1867, and which is held in the historic Strand District on Galveston Island on the Texas Gulf Coast. It draws many tourists to Galveston.

Port Arthur

Port Arthur, Texas Is the home to a very fast-growing Mardi Gras celebration. It began in 1992.

Saint Louis

St. Louis, Missouri hosts a Mardi Gras celebration in the neighborhood known as Soulard, St. Louis, Missouri.

San Diego

As of 2005, there is a corporate sponsored party in the Gaslamp Quarter of downtown San Diego.

San Luis Obispo

Mardi Gras celebrations have been controversial in recent years, with leaders of this Central California city calling for an end to public celebrations in 2005. Civic and university leaders hope to end the event as a state-wide party destination for students. See San Luis Obispo Mardi Gras controversy.

Newfoundland

In Newfoundland Mardi Gras is celebrated the weekend before Halloween in the capital city of St. John's. Unlike more traditional Mardi Gras celebrations, the Newfoundland celebration is largely a commercial event centered around St. John's famous George Street pub district. Each year the street is closed off for a weekend of celebrations, with participants generally dressed in Halloween attire.

Brazil

In Brazil, the Carnival celebrations in Recife, Olinda, Salvador are well-known, among others, most notably Rio de Janero.

See: Brazilian Carnival

Caribbean

In the Caribbean, Carnival is celebrated on a number of islands. The most famous and largest-scale of these is in Trinidad and Tobago. Other Carnivals are held on Aruba, Barbados, Dominica, Grenada, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Saint Kitts and Nevis, and the French West Indies.

Mexico

In Mexico, there are big Carnival celebrations every year in Mazatlan and Veracruz that include the election of a queen and street parades.

Belgium

In Binche the "Mardi Gras" is the most important day of the year and the summit of the .Around 1000 are dancing through the city from 4.00 AM to late hours on traditional carnival songs.In 2003, the Carnival of Binche was proclaimed one of the Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO.

Sydney

Also see Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras.

Dimarts de Carnaval Mardi Gras Mardi Gras מרדי גרא Mardi Gras マルディグラ მარდი გრა Užgavėnės Mardi Grasnb:Fetetirsdag Feittysdag Mardi Gras Mardi Gras