View source for Mardi Gras

{{Short description|Holiday on the day before Ash Wednesday}}
{{About|the carnival holiday}}
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{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2024}}
{{Infobox holiday
|holiday_name              = Mardi Gras
|nickname                  = Fat Tuesday, [[Shrove Tuesday]], Pancake Tuesday
|image                     = KosmicFrenchmenPurpleFaceMardiGras2009.JPG
|caption                   = [[Mardi Gras in New Orleans|Celebrations]] in [[New Orleans]], Louisiana, U.S.
|celebrations              = Parades, parties
|longtype                  = Christian, cultural
|type                      = French, Spanish,
|significance              = Celebration period before fasting season of [[Lent]]
|relatedto                 = [[Shrove Tuesday]], [[Carnival]], [[Shrove Monday]], [[Pre-Lent]], [[Ash Wednesday]], [[Lent]], [[Užgavėnės]], [[Maslenitsa]]
|date                      = Day before [[Ash Wednesday]], 47 days before [[Easter]], 2 days after [[Shrove Sunday]]
|date{{LASTYEAR}}    = {{Moveable date |holiday=Mardi Gras |year={{LASTYEAR}} |format=infobox}}
|date{{CURRENTYEAR}} = {{Moveable date |holiday=Mardi Gras |year={{CURRENTYEAR}} |format=infobox |cite=y}}
|date{{NEXTYEAR}}    = {{Moveable date |holiday=Mardi Gras |year={{NEXTYEAR}} |format=infobox}}
|date{{NEXTYEAR|2}}  = {{Moveable date |holiday=Mardi Gras |year={{NEXTYEAR|2}} |format=infobox}}
|frequency                 = Annual
}}

'''Mardi Gras''' ({{IPA-cen|UK|ˌ|m|ɑːr|d|i|_|ˈ|ɡ|r|ɑː}}, {{IPA-cen|US|ˈ|m|ɑːr|d|i|_|ɡ|r|ɑː}};<ref>{{cite LPD|3}}</ref><ref>{{cite EPD|18}}</ref> also known as '''[[Shrove Tuesday]]''') is the final day of [[Carnival]] (also known as [[Shrovetide]] or [[Fastelavn]]); it thus falls on the day before the beginning of [[Lent]] on [[Ash Wednesday]].<ref>{{cite OED|Mardi Gras (n.)|9489225210}}</ref> {{lang|fr|Mardi Gras}} is [[French language|French]] for "'''Fat Tuesday'''", referring to it being the last day of consuming rich, fatty foods, most notably [[red meat]], in preparation for the Christian [[Lenten sacrifice|fasting season of Lent]], during which such foods are avoided.<ref name="Rose1995"/>

Related popular practices are associated with Carnival celebrations before the fasting and religious obligations associated with the [[penitential]] season of Lent. In countries such as the [[United Kingdom]], Mardi Gras is more usually known as Pancake Day or (traditionally) Shrove Tuesday, derived from the word ''shrive'', meaning "to administer the sacrament of [[Confession (religion)|confession]] to; to absolve".<ref name="Melitta Weiss Adamson, Francine Segan 2008">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PPDIx6WWuOQC&q=Anglican+Mardi+Gras&pg=PA354|title=Entertaining from Ancient Rome to the Super Bowl|author=Melitta Weiss Adamson, Francine Segan|publisher=[[ABC-CLIO]]|year=2008|isbn=9780313086892|quote=In Anglican countries, Mardis Gras is known as ''Shrove Tuesday''—from ''shrive'' meaning "confess"—or ''Pancake Day''—after the breakfast food that symbolizes one final hearty meal of eggs, butter, milk and sugar before the fast. On Ash Wednesday, the morning after Mardi Gras, repentant Christians return to church to receive upon the forehead the sign of the cross in ashes.}}</ref>

==Background==
During the [[Liturgical year|liturgical season]] of Lent, some Christians [[Lenten sacrifice|abstain from the consumption]] of certain foods such as meat, eggs, dairy products, and alcoholic beverages. Most Christian denominations observe the tradition of Lent; exceptions include many churches within the [[Anabaptism|Anabaptist]], [[Baptists|Baptist]], [[Methodism|Methodist]], and [[Reformed Christianity|Reformed]] traditions.<ref name=OPC>{{cite web|author=<!--not stated-->|title=Question & Answer: Should we Observe Lent?|publisher=The Orthodox Presbyterian Church|location=Willow Grove, Pennsylvania|year=2024|url=https://www.opc.org/qa.html?question_id=365|quote=Those inheriting a Reformed theology (which would include the OPC) have adopted the stance that the church is only to practice in worship what the Bible actually establishes, often called the 'regulative principle of worship.' Many in the Reformed tradition would exclude the practice of Lent on this basis—it lacks scriptural warrant.|access-date=3 November 2024}}</ref><ref name=Benedict2014>{{cite book|last=Benedict|first=Philip|title=Christ's Churches Purely Reformed: A Social History of Calvinism|pages=118, 496|publisher=Yale University Press|location=New Haven|year=2002|isbn=0-300-08812-4|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JKj_x3W01hoC&q=lent}}</ref><ref name=Mennonite>{{Cite book|author=<!--not stated-->|title=Mennonite Stew – A Glossary: Lent|publisher=Third Way Media|url=https://thirdwaycafe.com/glossary/lent/#:~:text=The%20choice%20to%20fast%20or,await%20the%20promise%20of%20Easter.|quote=Traditionally, Mennonites did not observe Lent, and only recently have more modern Mennonite churches started to focus on the six week season preceding Easter.|access-date=3 November 2024}}</ref><ref name=FTU2012>{{cite news|last=Brumley|first=Jeff|title=Lent not just for Catholics, but also for many denominations, Baptists and other evangelicals|newspaper=[[The Florida Times-Union]]|location=Jacksonville, Florida|date=12 March 2012|url=http://jacksonville.com/news/metro/2012-03-12/story/lent-not-just-catholics-also-some-baptists-and-other-evangelicals|access-date=3 November 2024}}</ref><ref name=Moore2008>{{cite book|last=Moore|first=Scott|editor-last1=Ward|editor-first1=Roger|editor-last2=Gushee|editor-first2=David|title=The Scholarly Vocation and the Baptist Academy: Essays on the Future of Baptist Higher Education|chapter=The Predicament and the Promise for Young Baptist Scholars|page=143|publisher=Mercer University Press|location=Macon, Georgia|year=2008|url=978-0881461046|quote=In most Baptist churches, Lent is non-existent, and Advent is merely the 'pre-Christmas' wind-up.}}</ref> [[Shrovetide]] provided Christians with the opportunity to use up these foods prior to the start of the 40-day fasting season of Lent.<ref name="Campbell2005">{{cite book |last1=Campbell |first1=Georgina |title=The Best of Irish Breads and Baking: Traditional, Contemporary and Festive |date=May 2005 |publisher=Georgina Campbell Guides |isbn=978-1-903164-15-0 |page=106|quote=Until relatively recently, the Lenten fast was taken so seriously in Ireland that it meant abstaining not only from meat but also eggs and all milk products. The tradition of making pancakes on Shrove Tuesday (the day before Ash Wednesday) came about as a practical way of using up the surplus eggs, milk and butter which would otherwise go to waste. Most Irish families still make pancakes on Shrove Tuesday and the tradition of tossing pancakes not only survives but actually thrives, providing voter-friendly photo opportunities for politicians and commercial opportunities for the catering trade. }}</ref><ref name="Butler">{{cite book |last1=Butler |first1=Alban |title=The Moveable Feasts, Fasts, and Other Annual Observances of the Catholic Church |date=1839 |publisher=James Duffy|location=Dublin|pages=144–146|quote=The primitive Christians in Lent broke their fast only after sunset, and then usually only with herbs, roots, and bread. At least all were obliged to abstain not only from flesh meat, but also from fish, and whatever had life; also whatever is derived from flesh, as eggs, milk, cheese, butter, according to the ancient canon. Likewise from wine, which in the primitive ages was no less forbidden on all fasting days than the use of flesh meat itself ... Some mitigations were introduced in part of abstinence in the sixth century ... Fish was in the same age allowed, but not of the dearer and more dainty kinds.}}</ref><ref name="Butler1774">{{cite book |last1=Butler |first1=Alban |title=The Moveable Feasts, Fasts, and Other Annual Observances of the Catholic Church |date=1774 |publisher=C. Kiernan |page=257|quote=It is undoubted, that anciently to drink on fasting days was no less forbid than to eat, only in the refection after sunset.}}</ref> 

Prior to the 6th century, Lent was normatively observed through the practice of the [[Black Fast]], which enjoins fasting from food and liquids, with the allowance of one [[Christian vegetarianism|vegetarian]] meal and water after sunset.<ref name="Butler"/><ref name="Butler1774"/> The tradition of [[pancake breakfast]]s during Shrovetide, as well as that of pancake races, owes itself to this practice of "using up the surplus eggs, milk and butter" prior to Lent.<ref name="Campbell2005"/><ref name="CollinsMartin2005">{{cite book|last1=Collins|first1=Tony|last2=Martin|first2=John|last3=Vamplew|first3=Wray|title=Encyclopedia of Traditional British Rural Sports|year=2005|publisher=Psychology Press|isbn=978-0415352246|page=202|quote=The association between pancakes and Shrove Tuesday appears to have its origins in the fact that the pancakes used up food such as butter, eggs and fat that were prohibited during Lent, which begins the following day on Ash Wednesday. ... Pancakes have been eaten on Shrove Tuesday since at least the sixteenth century. In some parishes, it was the custom for the church bell to ring at noon as the signal for people to begin frying their pancakes. }}</ref> 

The specific tradition of eating pancakes is said to have roots in [[Slavs|Slavic]] [[paganism]], with this practice being co-opted into Christian ritual.<ref>{{ cite web | url=https://www.cbsnews.com/pictures/amazing-history-of-pancake-celebrations/7/ | title=The strange and amazing history of pancake celebrations | publisher=CBS News | last=Gornstein |first=Leslie |date=March 3, 2025 }}</ref><ref>{{ cite web | url=https://www.visitheritage.co.uk/inspiration/visit-heritage-blog/read/2023/02/why-do-we-eat-pancakes-on-shrove-tuesday-b302 | title=Why do we eat pancakes on Shrove Tuesday? | website=visitheritage.co.uk | date=February 20, 2023 | author= }}</ref> Specifically the pancake was said to symbolise the returning of the sun as spring approached.<ref>{{ cite web | url=https://www.history.co.uk/articles/the-pagan-roots-of-pancake-day | title=The pagan roots of Pancake Day and Shrove Tuesday | website=History.co.uk | author= | date= }}</ref><ref>{{ cite web | url=https://www.discoverbritain.com/history/traditions/shrove-tuesday-all-you-need-to-know/ | title=Shrove Tuesday: A traditional pancake recipe | date=February 21, 2023 | first=Flora | last=Hughes-Onslow | website=discoverbritain.com }}</ref>

In many Christian parish churches, both Protestant and Roman Catholic, a popular Shrove Tuesday tradition is the ringing of the [[church bell]]s (on this day, the toll is known as the Shriving Bell) "to call the faithful to confession before the solemn season of Lent" and for people to "begin frying their pancakes".<ref>{{cite web |title=What Is the Meaning and History of Shrove Tuesday? |url=https://www.christianity.com/wiki/holidays/what-is-shrove-tuesday-meaning-and-holiday-date.html |publisher=[[Christianity.com]] |access-date=7 April 2024|date=13 February 2024 |quote=In many Protestant and Roman Catholic Christian churches, a popular Shrove Tuesday ritual is the ringing of the church bells (on this day, known as the Shriving Bell) "to call the faithful to confession before the solemn season of Lent" and for people to "begin frying their pancakes."}}</ref><ref name="Cocks1897">{{cite book|last=Cocks|first=Alfred Heneage|title=The church bells of Buckinghamshire: their inscriptions, founders, and uses, and traditions; &c|year=1897|publisher=Jarrold & sons|page=276}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Pulleyn |first=William |title=The Etymological Compendium, Or Portfolio of Origins and Inventions |year=1828|publisher=[[Richard Griffin and Company]]|page=192}}</ref> As such, a hallmark of Shrovetide is the opportunity for a last round of merrymaking associated with Mardis Gras before the start of the somber Lenten season.<ref name="ELCD2021">{{cite web |title=Shrovetide|url=https://www.lutheranchurch.dk/liturgy-and-worship/festivals-and-traditions/shrovetide|publisher=[[Church of Denmark]]|access-date=8 February 2021}}</ref><ref name="Beadle1994">{{cite book|last=Beadle|first=Richard|title=The Cambridge Companion to Medieval English Theatre|date=17 March 1994|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=9780521459167|page=[https://archive.org/details/cambridgecompani00rich_1/page/69 69]|quote=One of these was the pre-Lent Carnival extravaganza of Shrovetide, though this seems to have been celebrated to a much lesser extent in Britain than it was (and still is) on the continent: however, we know of English Shrovetide plays, and ''Mankind'' bears signs of being one of them (''335'').|url=https://archive.org/details/cambridgecompani00rich_1/page/69}}</ref><ref name="Rose1995">{{cite book |last1=Rose |first1=David |title=Christianity |date=1995 |publisher=Folens Limited |isbn=978-1-85276-765-5 |page=9|quote=Shrove Tuesday was the day when all the luxury foods were eaten up. These included meat, eggs, milk and fine flour. People also went to church and confessed their sins. Today, many Christians give up 'something' for Lent, while others occupy their time with charitable works. In other parts of the world the day is called Fat Tuesday (or 'Mardi Gras') because people felt bloated having eaten up all the rich foods before Lent. Mardi Gras celebrations are often very elaborate, involving costumes and parties.}}</ref> The last day of Shrovetide, Mardi Gras (Fat Tuesday), is named as such "because people felt bloated having eaten up all the rich foods before Lent" in order to prepare for the coming season of repentance.<ref name="Rose1995"/>

==Traditions==
The festival season varies from city to city; Mardis Gras often refers to the last day of Shrovetide (or Fastelavn or Carnival), thus being synonymous with [[Shrove Tuesday]].<ref name="Rose1995"/> Some traditions, such as the one in [[New Orleans]], Louisiana, consider Mardi Gras to stretch the entire period from [[Twelfth Night (holiday)|Twelfth Night]] (the last night of Christmas which begins [[Epiphany (holiday)|Epiphany]]) to Ash Wednesday.<ref name="carnivalterminology">{{cite web|title=Mardi Gras Terminology |work=Mobile Bay Convention & Visitors Bureau |url=http://www.mobile.org/vis_mardigras_terms.php |access-date=18 November 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071209165238/http://www.mobile.org/vis_mardigras_terms.php |archive-date=9 December 2007 }}</ref><ref name="Wild/Dufour/Cowan (seas/New Orl.)">{{cite book|last1=Wilds|first1=John|author2=Charles L. Dufour|author3=Walter G. Cowan|title=Louisiana, Yesterday and Today: A Historical Guide to the State|date=1996|publisher=LSU Press|location=Baton Rouge|isbn=978-0807118931|page=157|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CyI14B5pua8C&q=mardi+gras+season+from+twelfth+night+to+ash+wednesday+new+orleans&pg=PA157|access-date=11 December 2015}}</ref> Others treat the final three-day period before Ash Wednesday as the Mardi Gras.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.crivoice.org/cylent.html |last=Bratcher |first=Dennis |title=The Season of Lent |date=7 January 2010 |publisher= Christian Resource Institute |access-date=25 June 2016}}</ref>

In [[Mobile, Alabama]], Mardi Gras–[[Mardi Gras in Mobile|associated social events begin in November]], followed by [[mystic society]] balls<ref name=carnivalterminology/><ref name="MCA">"Mobile Carnival Association, 1927",
  MardiGrasDigest.com, 2006, webpage:
  {{usurped|1=[http://www.mardigrasdigest.com/Bureau/Mobile/<!--
  -->mobile_carnival_association.htm mardigrasdigest-Mobile]}} {{Cite web |url=http://www.mardigrasdigest.com/Bureau/Mobile/mobile_carnival_association.htm |title=Mobile Carnival Association |access-date=12 March 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060307233517/http://www.mardigrasdigest.com/Bureau/Mobile/mobile_carnival_association.htm |archive-date=7 March 2006 |url-status=usurped }}</ref> New Year's Eve, followed by parades and balls in January and February, celebrating up to midnight before [[Ash Wednesday]]. In earlier times, parades were held on New Year's Day.<ref name=carnivalterminology/> Carnival (or [[Fastelavn]] or [[Shrovetide]]) is an important celebration in [[Lutheran]], [[Anglican]] and [[Catholic]] European nations.<ref name="Melitta Weiss Adamson, Francine Segan 2008"/><ref name="ELCD2021"/>

[[File:MardiGrasDakar.JPG|right|thumb|Mardi Gras in [[Dakar]], Senegal]]
[[File:Marseille-carnival-sun-and-moon.jpg|right|thumb|Mardi Gras in [[Marseille]], France]]

===Belgium===
[[File:Binche - Les Gilles.jpg|right|thumb|Mardi Gras in [[Binche]], Belgium]]

The three-day [[Carnival of Binche]], near [[Mons, Belgium|Mons]], is one of the best known in Belgium. It takes place around [[Shrove Tuesday]] (or Mardi Gras) just before [[Lent]]. Performers known as [[Gilles]] wear elaborate costumes in the [[national colours]] of red, black and yellow. During the parade, they throw [[Orange (fruit)|oranges]] at the crowd.<ref>{{cite web|title=The best Belgian folklore festivals|url=http://www.expatica.com/nl/leisure/travel_tourism/The-best-Belgian-folklore-festivals_16212.html|publisher=expatica.com|accessdate=25 November 2012|archive-date=4 August 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130804122549/http://www.expatica.com/nl/leisure/travel_tourism/The-best-Belgian-folklore-festivals_16212.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> In 2003, it was recognized by [[UNESCO]] as one of the [[Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity]].<ref name=LP223>{{cite book|last=Cole|first=Leanne Logan & Geert|title=Lonely Planet Belgium & Luxembourg.|year=2007|publisher=Lonely Planet|location=Footscray (Victoria)|isbn=978-1-74104-237-5|pages=223|edition=3.}}</ref>

===Czech Republic===
In the [[Czech Republic]], it is a folk tradition to celebrate Mardi Gras, which is called Masopust (meat-fast, i.e. beginning of the fast there). There are celebrations in many places including [[Prague]],<ref name=Masopust>{{cite web |url= https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p3IqY-QsJgc |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/p3IqY-QsJgc| archive-date=2021-12-11 |url-status=live|title= Mardi Gras in Bohemia-Prague |via= [[YouTube]] |access-date= 18 January 2016}}{{cbignore}}</ref> but the tradition also prevails in villages such as [[Staré Hamry]], whose door-to-door processions made it to the [[UNESCO World Intangible Cultural Heritage List]].<ref>{{cite web| title= Staročeský masopust Hamry | url=https://www.masopusthamry.cz/ | access-date= 16 December 2017 }}</ref>

===Germany===
{{main|Carnival in Germany, Switzerland and Austria|l1=Karneval, Fasching|Swabian–Alemannic Fastnacht|l2=Fastnacht}}
The celebration on the same day in [[Germany]] knows many different terms, depending on the region, such as [[Swabian–Alemannic Fastnacht|Fastnacht]], meaning the eve of the fast that takes place during Lent, or Veilchensdienstag (Violet Tuesday), as it is called in the Lower Rhine region. The celebrations often stretch from Epiphany, known in sections of Germany as Heilige Drei Könige, through the night before Ash Wednesday, and is variously known by different names, such as [[Carnival in Germany, Switzerland and Austria|Karneval]] or [[Fasching]] in Germany, Austria and German-speaking areas of Switzerland.  It is also often referred to as the "fifth season", which traditionally begins with Hoppeditz Erwachen (the waking of Hoppeditz, the Fool who embodies the Karneval season) on 11 November at 11:11 AM (11/11 11:11).{{citation needed|date=February 2023}} and ends with his comic funeral mass on Fastnacht.

Karneval is filled with large banquets held by the various organizing societies and generally comes to a climax beginning on what is variously known as ''Schmutziger Donnerstag'' or ''Fetter Donnerstag'' ([[Fat Thursday]]), ''Unsinniger Donnerstag'' (Nonsense Thursday), ''Altweiberfastnacht'', ''Greesentag'' and others. In [[standard German]], ''schmutzig'' means "dirty", but in the Alemannic dialects ''schmotzig'' means "lard" ([[Schmalz]]), or "fat";<ref name=Schmotzig>{{cite news |url=https://www.rontaler.ch/20330/woher-hat-der-schmutzige-donnerstag-seinen-namen |title=Woher hat der Schmutzige Donnerstag seinen Namen? |newspaper=Regionalzeitung Rontaler AG |date=17 February 2013 |language=de |access-date=7 February 2015}}</ref> thus "Greasy Thursday", as remaining winter stores of lard and butter used to be consumed at that time, before the fasting began.  Altweiberfastnacht often featured women wearing men's clothing and assuming their roles.   In many towns across the state of North Rhine Westphalia, a ritual "takeover" of the town halls by local women has become tradition.

===Italy===
In [[Italy]] Mardi Gras is called Martedì Grasso (Fat Tuesday).  It is the main day of [[Carnival]] along with the Thursday before, called Giovedí Grasso (Fat Thursday), which ratifies the start of the celebrations. The most famous [[Carnivals]] in northern Italy are in Venice, Viareggio and Ivrea, while in the southern part of Italy the Sardinian [[Sartiglia]] and the intriguing apotropaic masks, especially the mamuthones, issohadores, s'urtzu (and so on), are more popular, belonging to a very ancient tradition. Ivrea has the characteristic "[[Battle of the Oranges|Battle of Oranges]]" that finds its roots in medieval times.  The Italian version of the festival is spelled Carnevale.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/culturecustomsof00char|url-access=registration|page=[https://archive.org/details/culturecustomsof00char/page/94 94]|quote=mardi gras in italy.|title=Culture and Customs of Italy|last=Killinger|first=Charles L.|year=2005|publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group|isbn=978-0313324895}}</ref>

===Sweden===
In [[Sweden]] the celebration is called Fettisdagen, when fastlagsbulle is eaten, more commonly called [[Semla]]. The name comes from the words "fett" (fat) and "tisdag" (Tuesday). Originally, this was the only day one should eat [[Fastlagsbulle|fastlagsbullar]].<ref name="semla">{{cite web|title=Swedish semla: more than just a bun|work=Sweden.se|url=http://www.sweden.se/eng/Home/Lifestyle/Traditions/Reading/Swedish-semla-more-than-just-a-bun/|access-date=22 February 2011|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110606090150/http://www.sweden.se/eng/Home/Lifestyle/Traditions/Reading/Swedish-semla-more-than-just-a-bun/|archive-date=6 June 2011|df=mdy-all}}</ref>

===United Kingdom===
See [[Shrove Tuesday]].

===United States===
{{see also|Mardi Gras in the United States|Mardi Gras in Mobile|Mardi Gras in New Orleans}}

While not observed nationally throughout the United States, a number of historically ethnically French cities and regions in the country have notable celebrations. Mardi Gras arrived in North America as a [[French Catholic]] tradition with the Le Moyne brothers,<ref name=MGtime>
   "New Orleans & Mardi Gras History Timeline
" (event list),
   Mardi Gras Digest, 2005, webpage:
   {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20101124195528/http://www.mardigrasdigest.com/html/mardi_gras_history__timeline.htm MG-time]}}
</ref> [[Pierre Le Moyne d'Iberville]] and [[Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville]], in the late 17th century, when King [[Louis XIV]] sent the pair to defend France's claim on the territory of ''[[Louisiana (New France)|Louisiane]]'', which included what are now the U.S. states of [[Alabama]], [[Mississippi]], [[Louisiana]] and part of eastern [[Texas]].<ref name=MGtime/>

The expedition, led by Iberville, entered the mouth of the [[Mississippi River]] on the evening of 2 March 1699 (new style), [[Lundi Gras]]. They did not yet know it was the river explored and claimed for France by [[René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle]] in 1683. The party proceeded upstream to a place on the east bank about {{convert|60|mi|km|sigfig=1}} downriver from where [[New Orleans]] is today, and made camp. This was on 3 March 1699, Mardi Gras, so in honour of this holiday, Iberville named the spot ''Point du Mardi Gras'' (French: "Mardi Gras Point") and called the nearby tributary Bayou Mardi Gras.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.history.com/news/9-things-you-may-not-know-about-mardi-gras|title=9 Things You May Not Know About Mardi Gras|work=History.com|access-date=17 August 2017}}</ref>

[[Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville|Bienville]] went on to found the settlement of [[Mobile, Alabama|Mobile]] (now in Alabama) in 1702 as the first capital of French Louisiana.<ref name=TLhist>"Timeline 18th Century:" (events),
   Timelines of History, 2007, webpage:
   [http://timelines.ws/1700_1724.HTML TLine-1700-1724] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100701122153/http://timelines.ws/1700_1724.HTML |date=1 July 2010 }}:
   on "1702–1711" of Mobile.</ref> In 1703 French settlers in Mobile established the [[Mardi Gras in Mobile|first organised Mardi Gras]] celebration tradition in what was to become the United States.<ref name=MGtime/><ref name=MoMtime>{{cite web |url=http://www.museumofmobile.com/timeline.php |title=Carnival/Mobile Mardi Gras Timeline |work=Museum of Mobile |access-date=18 July 2012}}</ref><ref name=LOCgras>
   "Mardi Gras in Mobile" (history),
   [[Jeff Sessions]], Senator, [[Library of Congress]], 2006, webpage:
   [http://lcweb2.loc.gov/cocoon/legacies/AL/200002665.html LibCongress-2665].
</ref><ref name=MBAYgras>
   "Mardi Gras" (history),
   Mobile Bay Convention & Visitors Bureau, 2007, webpage:
   [https://www.mobile.org/ab_mardigras.php/ab_mardigras_history.php MGmobile].
</ref> The first informal [[mystic society]], or [[krewe]], was formed in Mobile in 1711, the ''Boeuf Gras Society''.<ref name=MoMtime/> Then came the [[Striker's Independent Society]] in 1842, followed by the oldest parading mystic society the [[Order of Myths]] or "OOMs" in 1867.

In 1720, [[Biloxi, Mississippi|Biloxi]] had been made capital of Louisiana. The French Mardi Gras customs had accompanied the colonists who settled there.<ref name=MGtime/>

[[File:Mobile Mardi Gras 2010 48.jpg|thumb|Knights of Revelry parade down Royal Street in Mobile during the 2010 Mardi Gras season.]]
In 1723, the capital of Louisiana was moved to [[New Orleans]], founded in 1718.<ref name=TLhist/> The first Mardi Gras parade held in New Orleans is recorded to have taken place in 1833 with [[Bernard de Marigny]] funding the first organized parade, tableau, and ball. The tradition in New Orleans expanded to the point that it became synonymous with the city in popular perception, and embraced by residents of New Orleans beyond those of French or Catholic heritage. Mardi Gras celebrations are part of the basis of the slogan ''[[Laissez les bons temps rouler]]'' ("Let the good times roll"), as floats "roll".<ref name=MGtime/>{{failed verification|date=February 2014}}

Festivities formally began in 1853 when a group of [[Protestantism|Protestant]] [[Anglo-Americans]], some members of [[Mobile, Alabama|Mobile]] [[Mystic society|Mystic Societies]], formed the first "old-line" krewe, The [[Mistick Krewe of Comus]], based on [[Bernard de Marigny]]'s 1833 parade of paper-mached wagons, a formal [[tableau vivant]] and presentation of debutants, followed by a formal [[Ball (dance event)|ball]]. The [[Twelfth Night Revelers]] were formed in 1870, again with ties to [[Mobile, Alabama|Mobile]], but no longer stage a parade, just tableau and ball. The [[Knights of Momus]] and [[Rex parade|Rex]] came about in 1872, with the last of the old-line krewes the [[Krewe of Proteus]] being formed 10 years later. Of these 5 groups only Rex and Proteus still formally parade, with the [[Knights of Chaos]] replacing Momus.

The parades of the largest krewes (colloquially known as "super krewes") came later, during the 1960s/70's, and traditionally occur immediately prior to and on Shrove Tuesday, including those of [[Krewe of Endymion|Endymion]] (Saturday, which also culminates with a concert event at [[Caesars Superdome]]), [[Krewe of Bacchus|Bacchus]] (Sunday), and [[Zulu Social Aid & Pleasure Club|Zulu]] and [[Rex parade|Rex]] (Tuesday).

Other cities along the Gulf Coast with early French colonial heritage, from [[Pensacola, Florida]], and [[Galveston, Texas]], to [[Lake Charles, Louisiana|Lake Charles]] and [[Lafayette, Louisiana]], and north to [[Natchez, Mississippi]], and [[Alexandria, Louisiana]], have active Mardi Gras celebrations.{{citation needed|date=February 2023}}

Galveston's first recorded Mardi Gras celebration, in 1867, included a masked ball at Turner Hall (Sealy at 21st St.) and a theatrical performance from Shakespeare's "King Henry IV" featuring Alvan Reed (a justice of the peace weighing in at 350 pounds) as Falstaff. The first year that Mardi Gras was celebrated on a grand scale in Galveston was 1871 with the emergence of two rival Mardi Gras societies, or "Krewes" called the Knights of Momus (known only by the initials "K.O.M.") and the Knights of Myth, both of which devised night parades, masked balls, exquisite costumes and elaborate invitations. The Knights of Momus, led by some prominent Galvestonians, decorated horse-drawn wagons for a torch lit night parade. Boasting such themes as "The Crusades", "Peter the Great", and "Ancient France", the procession through downtown Galveston culminated at Turner Hall with a presentation of tableaux and a grand gala.{{citation needed|date=February 2023}}

In the rural [[Acadiana]] area, many [[Cajuns]] celebrate with the ''[[Courir de Mardi Gras]]'', a tradition that dates to medieval celebrations in France.<ref>{{cite book| title= Capitaine, voyage ton flag : The Traditional Cajun Country Mardi Gras| author= Barry Jean Ancelet| author-link= Barry Jean Ancelet| publisher= Center for Louisiana Studies, University of Southwestern Louisiana| date= 1989| isbn= 0-940984-46-6| url= https://archive.org/details/capitainevoyaget00ance}}</ref>

[[St. Louis, Missouri]], founded in 1764 by French fur traders, claims to host the second largest Mardi Gras celebration in the United States.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/travel/best-places-celebrate-mardi-gras-outside-new-orleans-180954286/|title=Best Places to Celebrate Mardi Gras Outside of New Orleans|last=Geiling|first=Natasha|work=Smithsonian|access-date=11 February 2018}}</ref> The celebration is held in the historic French neighborhood, [[Soulard, St. Louis|Soulard]], and attracts hundreds of thousands of people from around the country.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.chicagotribune.com/lifestyles/travel/ct-mardi-gras-celebrations-not-in-new-orleans-20170131-story.html|title=7 big Mardi Gras celebrations (not in New Orleans)|last=Houser|first=Dave G.|work=chicagotribune.com|access-date=11 February 2018}}</ref> Although founded in the 1760s, the St. Louis Mardi Gras festivities only date to the 1980s.<ref>{{cite web| title= Mardi Gras in St. Louis' Soulard Neighborhood | url= http://www.allaboutmardigras.com/Features/soulardhistory.html |website= allaboutmardigras.com | access-date=12 February 2018}}</ref> The city's celebration begins with "12th night", held on Epiphany, and ends on Fat Tuesday. The season is peppered with various parades celebrating the city's rich French Catholic heritage.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://stlmardigras.org/events/12th-night|title=12th Night {{!}} Soulard Mardi Gras 2018 |place= St. Louis, MO|website=stlmardigras.org|access-date=11 February 2018}}</ref>
{{clear}}

==Costumes==
[[File:Mardi Gras Pirates New Orleans Louisiana WPA.jpg|thumb|Mardi Gras in New Orleans in 1937]]
Mardi Gras, as a celebration of life before the more-somber occasion of Ash Wednesday, nearly always involves the use of masks and costumes by its participants, and the most popular celebratory colors are purple, green, and gold.  In New Orleans, for example, these often take the shape of fairies, animals, people from myths, or various Medieval costumes<ref name="Gabbert1999">{{cite book|author=Lisa Gabbert|title=Mardi Gras: A City's Masked Parade|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4T2D0H8KJDAC&pg=PA4|year=1999|publisher=The Rosen Publishing Group|isbn=978-0-8239-5337-0|page=4}}</ref> as well as clowns and [[Native Americans in the United States|Native Americans]].<ref>{{cite book|title=A Mardi Gras Dictionary|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QJzd111SBGwC&pg=PT6|publisher=Pelican Publishing|isbn=978-1-4556-0836-2|page=6}}</ref>

=== Exposure by women ===
[[File:MardiGras2009CoffeeCustomers.JPG|right|thumb|upright|A topless woman at a coffee house, Mardi Gras Day in New Orleans, 2009]]
Although the [[Christian Church|Church]] teaches that it is sinful and that it contravenes the Christian standards of [[Modesty#Christianity|modesty]],<ref name="O'Malley">{{cite book |last1=O'Malley |first1=Timothy P. |title=Becoming Eucharistic People: The Hope and Promise of Parish Life |date=20 May 2022 |publisher=Ave Maria Press |isbn=978-1-64680-157-2 |page=13}}</ref><ref name="Cuthbert2018">{{cite web |last1=Cuthbert |first1=Chloe |title=Why We Celebrate Mardi Gras |url=https://medium.com/iron-ladies/why-we-celebrate-mardi-gras-a185f0eee70a |publisher=Iron Ladies |access-date=17 April 2024|date=19 February 2018|quote=And by the way, flashing is not only not required, it's discouraged.}}</ref> the practice of some women exposing their breasts during Mardi Gras in [[New Orleans]], US, has been documented since 1889, when the ''Times-Democrat'' decried the "degree of immodesty exhibited by nearly all female masqueraders seen on the streets." The practice was mostly limited to tourists in the upper Bourbon Street area.<ref name="sparks">Sparks, R. [https://nuevomundo.revues.org/document3941.html "American Sodom: New Orleans Faces Its Critics and an Uncertain Future"]. ''La Louisiane à la dérive''. [https://nuevomundo.revues.org/sommaire2899.html#rub3927 The École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales Coloquio]. 16 December 2005.</ref><ref name="shrum"/> In the crowded streets of the French Quarter, generally avoided by locals on Mardi Gras Day, [[Exhibitionism|flashers]] on balconies cause crowds to form on the streets.{{citation needed|date=February 2023}}

In the last decades of the 20th century, the rise in producing commercial [[videotape]]s catering to [[voyeurism|voyeurs]] helped encourage a tradition of women baring their breasts in exchange for beads and trinkets.  Social scientists studying "ritual disrobement" found, at Mardi Gras 1991, 1,200 instances of body-baring in exchange for beads or other favors.<ref name="shrum">Shrum, W. and J. Kilburn. [https://www.jstor.org/stable/2580408 "Ritual Disrobement at Mardi Gras: Ceremonial Exchange and Moral Order"]. ''Social Forces'', Vol. 75, No. 2. (Dec. 1996), pp. 423–458.</ref>

{{Further|topic=the traveling bead art exhibition|Bead Town}}

==See also==
* [[Carnaval de Ponce]]
* [[Bœuf Gras|Boeuf gras]]
* [[Fantasy Fest]]
* [[Fat Thursday]], a similar traditional Christian feast associated with the celebration of Carnival
* [[Maslenitsa]]
* [[Shrove Tuesday]]
* [[Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras]]
* [[Tsiknopempti]]
* [[Užgavėnės]]
{{clear}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
* [http://worldmusic.about.com/od/northamerican/p/CajunMardiGras.htm Traditional Cajun Mardi Gras Celebrations] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110707075116/http://worldmusic.about.com/od/northamerican/p/CajunMardiGras.htm |date=7 July 2011 }}
* [https://www.encyclopediaofalabama.org/face/Article.jsp?id=h-1437 Mardi Gras in Mobile, Encyclopedia of Alabama]
* [https://www.theguardian.com/travel/gallery/2009/jan/21/mardi-gras-carnival-festivals-guide Where to Celebrate Mardi Gras Around the World] – slideshow by ''[[The Guardian]]''
* [http://libmma.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/search/collection/p15324coll12/searchterm/mardi%20gras/order/nosort Fashion plates featuring historic Mardi Gras costumes] from the Metropolitan Museum of Art Libraries

{{Carnival around the world}}
{{US Observances}}

[[Category:Mardi Gras| ]]
[[Category:Tuesday observances]]
[[Category:February observances]]
[[Category:March observances]]
[[Category:Holidays based on the date of Easter]]
[[Category:Catholic Church in the United States]]
[[Category:Clothing-optional events]]