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Mardi Gras (UK: / ˌ m ɑːr d i ˈ ɡ r ɑː /, US: / ˈ m ɑːr d i ɡ r ɑː /; [1] [2] also known as Shrove Tuesday) is the final day of Carnival (also known as Shrovetide or Fastelavn); it thus falls on the day before the beginning of Lent on Ash Wednesday. [3]
Mardi Gras arrived in North America as a sedate French Catholic tradition with the Le Moyne brothers, [3] Pierre Le Moyne d'Iberville and Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville, in the late 17th century, when King Louis XIV sent the pair to defend France's claim on the territory of Louisiane, which included what are now the U.S. states of Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana.
The practice of exposing female breasts in exchange for Mardi Gras beads, however, was mostly limited to tourists in the upper Bourbon Street area. [5] [62] In the crowded streets of the French Quarter, generally avoided by locals on Mardi Gras Day, flashers on balconies cause crowds to form on the streets.
In 1699, Mardi Gras is said to have made its way to North America, thanks to French-Canadian explorer Pierre Le Moyne d’Iberville. He settled down near present-day New Orleans and brought the ...
Mardi Gras became the celebration we know today because of a secret society. Since its first impromptu celebrations in the early 1700's, Mardi Gras was regularly cancelled or banned for its ...
Mardi is the French word for Tuesday, and gras means "fat." This name comes from the custom of eating all the fatty, rich foods in the house prior to Lent in order to prepare for fasting and ...
1703 - Mardi Gras begins. [2] 1722 - French Louisiana capital relocated from Mobile to New Orleans. [3] 1723 - Fort Conde built. 1763 - Mobile becomes part of British West Florida per Treaty of Paris (1763). [1] 1780 - March: Battle of Fort Charlotte; Spanish in power. [1] 1783 - Mobile becomes part of Spanish West Florida per Treaty of Paris ...
The famous New Orleans celebration of Mardi Gras has a rich history. Learn Mardi Gras facts and the origins of the holiday's traditions such as beads, masks, and king cake.