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Mardi Gras refers to the carnival celebrations and its events that end before the Ash Wednesday. This is a French term and Mardi Gras meant Fat Tuesday and this refers to the complete period of events before this day called Mardi Gras day.
The celebration of this festive varies from one city to another. However, many of the traditions consider it as the carnival period the 12th night and Ash Wednesday, while many others consider the last three days period before Ash Wednesday to be Mardi Gras.
Alabama celebrates Mardi Gras events in November and this is followed by Thanksgiving and the eve of New Year. The events go up to midnight prior to Ash Wednesday. There are other cities that prominently celebrate Mardi Gras and these include Rio de Janeiro, Sydney, Brazil, Australia, Louisiana and New Orleans.
Many places plan significant celebrations to enjoy Mardi Gras. Carnivals are enjoyed in most parts of Europe and hence this is one of the important celebrations. However, UK and Ireland call this festival as ‘Shrovetide’ and this completes on Shrove Tuesday.
Mardi Gras is not observed as a festival nationally in the United States, yet there are cities as well as regions having notable celebrations. They do this by sending flowers on Mardi Gras day as a way of expressing the celebration mood.
Iberville led an expedition and entered Lundi Gras on March 2, 1699 from the Mississippi River mouth. This group never knew that this was the river claimed for France. This expedition group proceeded to a place upstream on the west bank where New Orleans is sited today and camped there. Here a small tributary poured into a great river and they camped here on 3 March.
Hence, it is known as Mardi Gras day in due respect. Iberville called the tributary as Bayou Mardi Gras and the point as du Mardi Gras. In the recent times sending flowers on Mardi Gras day has become popular and other cities in the United States also have instituted the Mardi Gras day celebrations, though they do not have any heritage of French. |
