Mardi Gras

Last night when everyone was coming in to have opening exercises for our church youth activity, a couple of girls came in with a whole mess of Mardi Gras beads to give away. The day before, their family had gone down to New Orleans for Mardi Gras. They had gobs and gobs of beads and so wanted to share some.

Yesterday was Ash Wednesday. The day before, Fat Tuesday, or Mardi Gras. Actually, Mardi Gras season lasts from January until lint starts. Ash Wednesday is the beginning of Lint, and Fat Tuesday is the end of Mardi Gras season.

Mardi Gras literally means Fat Tuesday. During the Mardi Gras season, there is a lot of partying, including floats and King Cakes. I live in northern Louisiana, and we have one Saturday during the season where they close down one of the main roads and have a big parade. People from all over gather, some even spend the night before in campers so they can get a good place to see the floats. Beads, cups, footballs, etc. are thrown from the floats. Even though this is a big deal here in Monroe, It doesn't hold a candle to what goes on down in New Orleans (NOLA). NOLA is the Mardi Gras capital, and during the season, floats are seen everyday.





Green, gold and purple are the Mardi Gras colors.




If you want to learn the history of Mardi Gras, go here. If you want to learn about the King Cake and get a recipe, go here.