The celebration of Mardi Gras came to North America from Paris, where it had been celebrated since the Middle Ages.

Mardi Gras means "Fat Tuesday," started by the French. "Fat Tuesday" received its name by the custom of parading a fat ox through the streets of Paris on Strove Tuesday, the day before Ash Wednesday.

In the early 19th Century, the public celebration of Mardi Gras consisted mainly of maskers on foot, in carriages and on horseback.

Mardi Gras falls between February 3rd and March 9th. The Mardi Gras Season officially starts on January 6th which is the “Twelfth Night” and ends at midnight the day before Ash Wednesday, known as Fat Tuesday.

There are many ways Mardi Gras is celebrated today. One tradition is to hold parades. The people that are in the parade are called a Krewe. Each Mardi Gras Krewe has a King, Queen, Dukes, Knights and Captains

A Mardi Gras Float

Krewe members throw beads or trinkets at people watching the parade.

During Mardi Gras, many people celebrate with a King Cake. They are decorated with sugar in purple, green and gold. They have a small, plastic King Cake baby baked inside. Whoever gets the baby is considered the King or Queen of the party.

Another tradition of Mardi Gras is trying to catch a doubloon during a parade. A doubloon is a coin like object about the size of a U.S. silver dollar. Doubloons usually contain the symbol of the krewe on one side and the year and theme of the parade on the other.

Another tradition is the wearing of masks. This

tradition was started back in the ninth and tenth

century when peasants would travel from farm to farm to beg for food. The

mask protected their identity and dignity. Street masking became common

in 1835 as an excuse to participate in the merry making of the day. New

Orleans Mardi Gras celebrants take great

pleasure in their hidden identity.

Mardi Gras ends with the King of Carnival, Rex, parading through the city of New Orleans. This signals the end of Mardi Gras and the beginning of Lent.