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Mardi Gras or Fat Tuesday is the last day before the start of Lent, and signifies the final day on which rich fatty foods can be eaten before the fasting and religious practices of the Lenten period

The exact time period and type of activities vary depending on the region. Some cities treat the whole of the period from Twelfth Night and Fat Tuesday as the carnival season. Others just regard the few days prior to Ash Wednesday as Mardi Gras

The French certainly brought Mardi Gras to the Americas. Also in the mid seventeen hundreds there are accounts of street festivities in New Orleans.


It was called Lupercalia based on homage to the Roman god, Lupercus, connected with pastoral care.


The fiestas connected with these traditions were absorbed by the early Christian church and were deemed a useful excuse to allow the common people to enjoy a period of merriment before the Lenten period

These were usually characterised by fancy costumes, masks and processions through the streets accompanied by music.


The exact time period and type of activities vary depending on the region. Some cities treat the whole of the period from Twelfth Night and Fat Tuesday as the carnival season. Others just regard the few days prior to Ash Wednesday as Mardi Gras.