Mardi Gras
Fat Tuesday, also known as Mardi Gras, Shrove Tuesday, or Pancake Tuesday, is the day before Ash Wednesday, which begins the Christian season of Lent. It is scheduled to occur 46 days before Easter Sunday. Since the date of Easter varies from year to year, Fat Tuesday can occur on any Tuesday from February 3 to March 9[1]. Because the eating of meat and meat products was forbidden by the Catholic Church during Lent and people were expected to fast during the Lenten season, it became common to make Fat Tuesday a day of feasting and celebration, where people would use up the lard, eggs, and milk they were forbidden during Lent.
Mardi Gras is simply the French for Fat Tuesday, and the holiday was brought to the United States by the French. The very first Mardi Gras celebration was believed to have been observed in AD 1703 in Mobile, Alabama.[2]. However New Orleans, Louisiana, is the city most associated with Mardi Gras. In New Orleans it is an official holiday, and has been an event for two centuries, except during the two world wars[1]. Every year, residents and guests stage elaborate and boisterous parades and balls.