Mardi Gras is French for Fat Tuesday. Mardi Gras is celebrated before the beginning of the Lent season. Lent is a time when Christians fast and give up eating luxurious foods in the memory of Jesus Christ. This 40-day fast is marked to pay respects to Jesus Christ who made sacrifices when he stayed in the desert to pray and fast for 40 days. So, Mardi Gras marks the last day to eat rich, fatty food before Lent until Easter Sunday.
The big holiday of Mardi Gras in New Orleans, USA, is all about parades, floats, picnic, music, and a heap of excitement! People who attend the celebration come dressed in fun costumes or at least make sure they wear something purple, golden, or green along with long necklaces made from beads they caught at the previous year’s parades.
The most fun part of this festival is catching beads, trinkets, stuffed animals, and coins thrown by the people in the parades.