Happy Mardi Gras!

Mardi Gras season in English refers to the events of the Carnival celebrations ending on the day before Ash Wednesday which is the first day of Lent, and occurs for forty-six days, depending on the date of Easter. In French the term literally means "Fat Tuesday" and has come to mean the period of activity related to those events beyond just the single day.

In the United States Mardi Gras in not nationally observed but many cities have celebrations. It arrived in North America as a French Catholic tradition.One city that widely celebrates is New Orleans, Louisiana. They have one of the most famous Carnival celebrations in the world.

New Orleans has many parades,masquerade balls, and king cake parties during this season. King cakes are cinnamon-roll like cakes with sugary icing and have traditional Mardi Gras colored sprinkles on the outside.

Many tourists flood Bourbon Street and the French Quarter to see the wild parades. The Krewe du Vieux parade is one of the earliest parades to date in the New Orleans Carnival Calendar. Riders on the floats on called krewes and they toss 'throws' or trinkets, such as colorful beads and doubloons to the crowd.

Mardi Gras is celebrated on February 24 every year and is a great celebration.