Test Your Friends’ Knowledge of the Meaning of Mardi Gras With a Fun Mardi Gras Facts Party

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Los Angeles, California, United States of America (Free-Press-Release.com) January 19, 2012 -- "Many relate to Mardi Gras as a huge celebration of wild parties, bead wearing, parades, and drinking. But the true meaning of Mardi Gras and its history might surprise some, especially when it is referred to as a religious holiday week.

Mardi Gras literally translates to “Fat Tuesday,” and is sometimes referred to in England as Shrove Tuesday. The word “shrive” means to confess. And Mardi Gras comes just before Lent in the Catholic religion. It is a time of feasting, partying, and readying for a period of fasting and restrictions. Some carnival seasons vary from city to city in the United States, as tradition considers the celebration either the whole period between the Epiphany and Ash Wednesday, or the final period just before Ash Wednesday. In Alabama, the celebration begins in November just before Thanksgiving. In early days, the carnivals and parades took place on New Year’s Day.

Mardi Gras is not generally celebrated all over the United States, but when people want to celebrate, they go to the French Quarter in New Orleans. Fantastic parades with people wearing colorful masks and costumes, dancing in the streets, and some sports competitions mark the Mardi Gras celebrations.

It first arrived as a Catholic tradition among the French, brought the North America by the Le Moyne brothers. This was late in the 17th Century. King Louis XIV had sent the brothers to Louisiana to claim it as French territory. And Mobile, Alabama eventually became the first French capital of Louisiana in 1702. In 1703 was when the celebrations of Mardi Gras began by some French settlers in Mobile, Alabama. In 1720, though, Biloxi was named capital of Louisiana. By 1723 New Orleans became the capital of Louisiana, and the Mardi Gras tradition became associated strongly with this city.

So, aside from the great parties, fantastic costumes, and delicious cajun food, Mardi Gras celebrations are religious in nature, preparing for the restrictions of Lent in the Catholic religion. To get the most out of a Mardi Gras tradition, New Orleans is the place to embrace for this great week of carnival celebration.

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