Mardi Gras is one of the great annual festival celebrations that takes place in New Orleans, Louisiana every year. The festival is based on a traditional European Carnival celebration that occurs before Lent each year. The term Mardi Gras is translated in French as Fat Tuesday and refers to the grand indulgence that takes place on the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday. In English the term is Shrove Tuesday and the Carnival celebration is something that is celebrated by many cultures and was extremely prominent in the Medieval and Renaissance time periods.

Traditionally Carnival is intended to celebrate unregulated consumption of food and alcoholic beverages. There were various performances and entertainments that were associated with the feast that was also intended to turn social rules, roles and expectations upside down. It was a time of great revelry and abandonment where everything was taken to extremes. These behaviors all came to an abrupt end during Lent, which was a period of solemnity and fasting. It was generally the only time out of the year that such extreme chaos, disorder and social status turn over was accepted and or allowed.

People from across the country travel to New Orleans every year to take part in the parades and events of Mardi Gras. For many people attendance at Mardi Gras is almost considered to be a rite of passage. It is the most significant Carnival celebration in the United States and people from across the nation fill the luxury New Orleans inns and hotels while it is taking place. Face and body painting as well as elaborate costumes are popular and great street and club music is heard throughout. Face mask and beads are popular attire. The French Quarter is one of the more famous areas associated with Marti Gras and a main point of parade beginnings.

Mardi Gras in New Orleans Based on European Carnival Traditions is a post from: Virtual Villages

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