Mardi Gras (MAHR dee GRAH), is a lively, colorful celebration held on Shrove Tuesday, the day before Lent begins. The date of Mardi Gras depends on the date of Easter. Mardi Gras takes place at the end of a long carnival season that begins on January 6, or Twelfth Night. It is celebrated in many Roman Catholic countries and other communities. Mardi Gras means fat Tuesday in French. The term may have arisen in part from the custom of parading a fat ox through French towns and villages on Shrove Tuesday.

French colonists introduced Mardi Gras into America in the early 1700's. The custom became popular in New Orleans, Louisiana, and spread through several Southern States. Mardi Gras is a legal holiday in Alabama and Florida and in eight parishes (counties) of Louisiana. The New Orleans celebration is the most famous. But Biloxi, Mississippi, and Mobile, Alabama, also celebrate Mardi Gras.

Mardi Gras in New Orleans attracts tourists from around the world. Parades begin the week before Mardi Gras. Societies called krewes organize and pay for the parades and other festivities. During the carnival season, the krewes give balls and parties. They parade in masks and fancy dress. A parade of floats and marching bands climaxes the carnival on Mardi Gras. Riders on the floats throw necklaces, toys, and coins called doubloons to the onlookers. Each year, the festivities have a theme.

Mardi Gras goes back to an ancient Roman custom of merrymaking before a period of fast. In Germany Mardi Gras is called Fastnacht. In England it is called Pancake Day or Pancake Tuesday.