Mardi Gras

American Heritage Dictionary:

Mar·di Gras

(mär'dē grä') pronunciation

1. Shrove Tuesday, celebrated as a holiday in many places with carnivals, masquerade balls, and parades of costumed merrymakers.
2. A carnival period coming to a climax on this day.
An occasion of great festivity and merrymaking.

[French : mardi, Tuesday + gras, fat (from the feasting on Mardi Gras before Lenten fasting).]

Search unanswered questions...

Browse: Unanswered questions | Most-recent questions | Reference library

Mardi Gras

Top

(French: "Fat Tuesday") Carnival celebrated on or culminating on Shrove Tuesday, the day before Ash Wednesday, the start of Lent. Traditionally, households consumed all the remaining foods that would be forbidden during Lent (e.g., eggs) on that day. It is a one-day event in France, but in the U.S. it lasts several days in New Orleans, where it is marked by parades, street celebrations, and extravagant costumes.

For more information on Mardi Gras, visit Britannica.com.

Gale Encyclopedia of US History:

Mardi Gras

Top

Mardi Gras is the elaborate series of outdoor pageants and indoor tableau balls held annually during the winter social season in the United States, especially in New Orleans and Mobile. The carnival culminates on Fat or Shrove Tuesday, the day before Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent. Rooted in European pre-Lenten revelries, the carnival tradition in the United States began in the colonial period and developed in tandem with racial policies and practices and survives as an extravagant spectacle of excess, decadence, and burlesque. The pageants, each sponsored by one of the many exclusive carnival organizations, are based upon themes drawn from mythology, history, or fiction and are often satiric of contemporary social issues.

Bibliography

Kinser, Samuel. Carnival, American Style: Mardi Gras at New Orleans and Mobile. Photographs by Norman Magden. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1990.

Holidays, Festivals & Celebrations of the World:

Top

February-March; two weeks before Ash Wednesday

The most flamboyant of Mardi Gras (from the French for "fat Tuesday") celebrations in North America culminates in a riot of parades and throngs of laughing, drinking, dancing people in the streets of New Orleans, La.

The Mardi Gras celebrations symbolize New Orleans, "The City that Care Forgot," to most people. The festivities actually start on Jan. 6 (Epiphany) with a series of private balls. The tempo picks up in the last two weeks of the Carnival season, when the streets ring with 30 separate parades organized by committees called krewes . The parades consist of marching jazz bands and lavishly decorated two-story floats carrying the costumed and masked krewe royalty who toss "throws" to pleading spectators; these are beads or bonbons or the coveted Mardi Gras doubloons. Each of the parades has 15 to 20 floats, all decorated to express a certain theme.

Two of the biggest and most elaborate parades, the Krewe of Endymion and the Bacchus parade, take place on the weekend before Mardi Gras. On the day of Mardi Gras, designated the "Day of Un-Rule," the traditional parades spotlight Rex, King of Carnival and Monarch of Merriment, in the morning, and Comus, God of Revelry, by torchlight at night. On that same evening the private balls of Rex and Comus are held. At midnight, the madness of Carnival ends, and Lent begins, and a million or so spectators and participants face sobriety.

New Orleans had its first organized Mardi Gras parade in 1857. It consisted of two floats and was presented by the first Carnival society, the Mistick Krewe of Comus, its name alluding to John Milton's masque, Comus . The parade was apparently well received; it was one of the first local institutions revived after the Civil War.

Mardi Gras in New Orleans is the best known, but not the oldest Mardi Gras. A two-week pre-Lenten celebration in Mobile, Ala., stands alone as the oldest celebration of Mardi Gras in the country. It was first observed in 1703 by the French who had founded the port city the year before. When the Spanish occupied Mobile in 1780, they moved it to the eve of the Twelfth Night of Christmas and paraded in grotesque costumes and masks. The celebrations were suspended during the Civil War, but were revived in 1866 by Joe Cain, a town clerk who togged himself out as an Indian chief and rode through the streets in a charcoal wagon. The old Mardi Gras societies reappeared, and new ones evolved.

Today a different mystic society parades each evening in the two weeks before Lent, and balls are held that are open to everyone. Mardi Gras itself, the day before Ash Wednesday, is a legal holiday in the state of Louisiana.

Galveston, Texas, has a 12-day period of whoop-de-do leading up to the actual day of Fat Tuesday in this barrier-island city of Texas. About 200,000 spectators are attracted to the Mardi Gras festival, which was first held here in 1867. Though it died out at the turn of the century, it was revived in 1985. Growing bigger every year, this celebration features masked balls, royal coronations, Cajun dances, jazz performances, and, of course, numerous parades with dramatic floats.

See also Carnival, Shrove Tuesday

CONTACTS
New Orleans Metropolitan Convention and Visitors Bureau
2020 St. Charles Ave.
New Orleans, LA 70130
800-672-6124 or 504-566-5011; fax: 504-566-5046
www.neworleanscvb.com

Mobile Convention and Visitors Corporation
1 S. Water St.
P.O. Box 204
Mobile, AL 36602
800-566-2453 or 251-208-2000; fax: 251-208-2060
www.mobile.org
Mardi Gras Galveston official site
Galveston Island Convention and Visitors Bureau
Visitor Information Center
Galveston, TX 77550
888-425-4753
mardigrasgalveston.com

Columbia Encyclopedia:

Mardi Gras

Top

Mardi Gras (mär'dē grä), last day before the fasting season of Lent. It is the French name for Shrove Tuesday. Literally translated, the term means "fat Tuesday" and was so called because it represented the last opportunity for merrymaking and excessive indulgence in food and drink before the solemn season of fasting. In the cities of some Roman Catholic countries the custom of holding carnivals for Mardi Gras has continued since the Middle Ages. The carnivals, with spectacular parades, masked balls, mock ceremonials, and street dancing, usually last for a week or more before Mardi Gras itself. Some of the most celebrated are held in New Orleans, Rio de Janeiro, Nice, and Cologne. For a full discussion of this subject, see carnival.

Random House Word Menu:

categories related to 'Mardi Gras'

Top

Random House Word Menu by Stephen Glazier

For a list of words related to Mardi Gras, see:

Annual National and Religious Holidays - Mardi Gras: Christian: Tuesday immediately before beginning of Lent, celebrated by feasting, carnivals, and parades; Carnival
French - Mardi Gras: lit. fat Tuesday; pre-Lenten festival on Shrove Tuesday

Rhymes:

Mardi Gras

Top

See words rhyming with "Mardi Gras."

Wikipedia on Answers.com:

Mardi Gras

Top

This article is about the carnival. For other uses, see Mardi Gras (disambiguation).

Mardi Gras (Also known as Shrove Tuesday or Fat Tuesday)
Mardi Gras celebrations in New Orleans, USA
Type	Christian, cultural
Significance	Celebration prior to fasting season of Lent.
2011 date	March 8
2012 date	February 21
2013 date	February 12
Celebrations	Parades, parties
Related to	Carnival, Shrove Monday, Ash Wednesday, Lent, Maslenitsa

The terms "Mardi Gras" ( /ˈmɑrdiɡrɑː/), "Mardi Gras season", and "Carnival season",^[1]^[2]^[3]^[4]^[5] in English, refer to events of the Carnival celebrations, beginning on or after Epiphany and culminating on the day before Ash Wednesday. Mardi gras is French for Fat Tuesday, referring to the practice of the last night of eating richer, fatty foods before the ritual fasting of the Lenten season, which begins on Ash Wednesday; in English the day is sometimes referred to as Shrove Tuesday, from the word shrive, meaning "confess."^[6] Related popular practices are associated with celebrations before the fasting and religious obligations associated with the penitential season of Lent. Popular practices include wearing masks and costumes, overturning social conventions, dancing, sports competitions, parades, etc. Similar expressions to Mardi Gras appear in other European languages sharing the Christian tradition. In English, the day is called Shrove Tuesday, associated with the religious requirement for confession before Lent begins.

In many areas, the term "Mardi Gras" has come to mean the whole period of activity related to the celebratory events, beyond just the single day. In some US cities, it is now called "Mardi Gras Day" or "Fat Tuesday".^[1]^[2]^[3]^[4]^[5] The festival season varies from city to city, as some traditions consider Mardi Gras the entire period between Epiphany or Twelfth Night and Ash Wednesday.^[7] Others treat the final three-day period before Ash Wednesday as the Mardi Gras.^[8] In Mobile, Alabama, Mardi Gras-associated social events begin in November, followed by mystic society balls on Thanksgiving,^[7]^[9] then 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.^[7] Other cities famous for Mardi Gras celebrations include Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Barranquilla, Colombia, Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, Quebec City, Canada; Mazatlán, Sinaloa in Mexico; and New Orleans, Louisiana, United States.

Carnival is an important celebration in Anglican and Catholic European nations.^[6] In the United Kingdom and Ireland, the week before Ash Wednesday is called "shrovetide", ending on Shrove Tuesday. It has its popular celebratory aspects as well. Pancakes are a traditional food. Pancakes and related fried breads or pastries made with sugar, fat and eggs are also traditionally consumed at this time in many parts of Latin America and the Caribbean.

Mardi Gras in Dakar, Senegal.

Mardi Gras in Marseille, France.

Mardi Gras in Binche, Belgium.

Contents

1 Belgium
2 Brazil
3 Germany
4 Italy
5 Netherlands
6 Sweden
7 United States
8 See also
9 References
10 External links

Belgium

In the Belgian city of Binche the Mardi Gras festival is the most important day of the year and the summit of the Carnival of Binche. Around 1000 Gilles dance throughout the city from morning until past dusk, whilst traditional carnival songs play. In 2003, the "Carnival of Binche" was proclaimed one of the Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO.

Brazil

Main article: Brazilian Carnival

Carnaval is the most famous Brazilian holiday. During this time period Brazil attracts 70% of its tourists. Variations in carnaval celebrations are observed throughout the multitude of Brazilian cities. Yet, a commonality observed among them is the incorporation of samba into the celebrations. The southeastern cities of Brazil have massive parades that take place in large sambadromes. The largest carnaval celebration in Brazil and the world occurs in Rio de Janeiro, where two million people are found celebrating in the city. The city of Bahia also holds a large carnaval celebration.

Germany

The celebration of Mardi Gras in Germany is called Karneval, Fastnacht, or Fasching.^[10] Fastnacht means "Eve of the Beginning of the Fast", and is celebrated the day before Ash Wednesday.

The most famous parades are held in Cologne, Mainz, and Düsseldorf on the Monday before Ash Wednesday, called Rosenmontag.

Italy

Netherlands

The Netherlands also has a festival similar to Mardi Gras. It's called Carnaval and is similar to the Venice Carnival. The origin of the word Carnaval is 'Carne Vale' which means Goodbye to the meat in Latin. It marks the beginning of the sacred period that leads to Easter.

The real festival is held in the southern part of the Netherlands in the provinces of Noord-Brabant and Limburg.

Sweden

In Sweden the celebration is called Fettisdagen. It comes from the word "fett" (fat) and "tisdag" (Tuesday). Originally, this was the only day one should eat semlor.^[11] These are now sold in most grocery stores and bakeries preceding the holiday, and up until Easter.

United States

Mardi Gras 2010 celebrants in the French Quarter of New Orleans, in the traditional colors of purple, green, and gold.

While not observed nationally throughout the United States, a number of traditionally ethnic 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,^[12] 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 Louisiane, which included what are now the U.S. states of Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana.^[12]

The expedition, led by Iberville, entered the mouth of the Mississippi River on the evening of March 2, 1699, 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 west bank about 60 miles downriver from where New Orleans is today, and made camp. This was on March 3, 1699, Mardi Gras, so in honor of this holiday, Iberville named the spot Point du Mardi Gras (French: "Mardi Gras Point") and called the nearby tributary Bayou Mardi Gras. Bienville went on to found the settlement of Mobile, Alabama in 1702 as the first capital of French Louisiana.^[13] In 1703 French settlers in Mobile began the Mardi Gras celebration tradition.^[12]^[14]^[15] By 1720, Biloxi had been made capital of Louisiana. The French customs had already accompanied colonists who settled there.^[12]

In 1723, the capital of Louisiana was moved to New Orleans, founded in 1718.^[13] The tradition has expanded to the point that it became strongly associated 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) and the nickname "Big Easy".^[12] Mobile, Alabama, the former capital of New France, also has a long tradition of celebrating Mardi Gras. Other cities along the Gulf Coast formerly occupied and owned by the French from Pensacola, Florida, and its suburbs to Lafayette, Louisiana, have active Mardi Gras celebrations. In the rural Acadiana area, many Cajuns celebrate with the Courir de Mardi Gras, a tradition that dates to medieval celebrations in France.^[16]

In the last decade of the 20th century, the rise in producing commercial videotapes catering to voyeurs helped encourage a tradition of women baring breasts in exchange for beads and trinkets.^[17] This is practiced only in very small fragments of where Mardi Gras is celebrated, mostly by visitors rather than locals.

References

^ ^a ^b In London, Mardi Gras season: "Paul's Pastry Shop kneads a ton of dough in Picayune", Allbusiness.com, 2008, webpage: Allbusiness-35.
^ ^a ^b In New Orleans, Mardi Gras season: "Mardi Gras in New Orleans | Metro.co.uk", Metro.co.uk, 2009, webpage: Metro.co.uk-2315.
^ ^a ^b In Mobile, Mardi Gras season: "New Orleans has competition for Mardi Gras", USATODAY.com, February 2006, webpage: USATODAY-com-mardi.
^ ^a ^b In San Diego, Mardi Gras season: "sandiego.com - Mardi Gras in San Diego: FAQ's", SanDiego.com, 2008, webpage: SanDiego.com-SD.
^ ^a ^b In Texas, Mardi Gras season: "Let’s Celebrate: Mardi Gras 2008", Southernbyways.com, January 2008, webpage: southernbyways-com-TX.
^ ^a ^b Melitta Weiss Adamson, Francine Segan (2008). Entertaining from Ancient Rome to the Super Bowl. ABC-CLIO. http://books.google.com/books?id=PPDIx6WWuOQC&pg=PA354&dq=Anglican+Mardi+Gras&hl=en&ei=8am8Tp_PCqPg0QH0t5y-BA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CDUQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=Anglican%20Mardi%20Gras&f=false. "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, and sugar before the fast. On Ash Wednesday, the morning after Mardi Gras, repentant Christians return to church to receive upon the forhead the sign of the cross in ashes."
^ ^a ^b ^c "Mardi Gras Terminology". "Mobile Bay Convention & Visitors Bureau". http://www.mobile.org/vis_mardigras_terms.php. Retrieved November 18, 2007.
^ "The Season of Lent". Crivoice.org. January 7, 2010. http://www.crivoice.org/cylent.html. Retrieved October 16, 2010.
^ "Mobile Carnival Association, 1927", MardiGrasDigest.com, 2006, webpage: mardigrasdigest-Mobile.
^ [1]^{[dead link]}
^ "Swedish semla: more than just a bun". Sweden.se. http://www.sweden.se/eng/Home/Lifestyle/Traditions/Reading/Swedish-semla-more-than-just-a-bun/. Retrieved February 22, 2011.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e "New Orleans & Mardi Gras History Timeline" (event list), Mardi Gras Digest, 2005, webpage: MG-time.
^ ^a ^b "Timeline 18th Century:" (events), Timelines of History, 2007, webpage: TLine-1700-1724: on "1702-1711" of Mobile.
^ "Mardi Gras in Mobile" (history), Jeff Sessions, Senator, Library of Congress, 2006, webpage: LibCongress-2665.
^ "Mardi Gras" (history), Mobile Bay Convention & Visitors Bureau, 2007, webpage: MGmobile.
^ "Mardi Gras in Rural Acadiana". http://web.lsue.edu/acadgate/mardmain.htm. Retrieved February 18, 2010.
^ Shrum, W. and J. Kilburn. "Ritual Disrobement at Mardi Gras: Ceremonial Exchange and Moral Order". Social Forces, Vol. 75, No. 2. (Dec., 1996), pp. 423-458.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Mardi Gras

v d e Holidays, observances, and celebrations in the United States

Federal holidays	Christmas Day • Columbus Day • Independence Day • Labor Day • Martin Luther King, Jr. Day • Memorial Day • New Year's Day • Thanksgiving • Veterans Day • Washington's Birthday (Presidents Day)

Legal state holidays	Alabama Day (AL) • Alaska Day (AK) • Arbor Day (NE) • Bennington Battle Day (VT) • Casimir Pulaski Day (IL) • César Chávez Day (CA, TX) • Christmas Eve (KY, NC) • Confederate Heroes Day (TX) • Confederate Memorial Day (AL, FL, GA, MS, SC) • Day After Thanksgiving (DE) • Election Day (CA, DE, HI, KY, MT, NJ, NY, OH, WV) • Emancipation Day In Texas / Juneteenth (TX) • Emancipation Day (DC) • Evacuation Day (MA) • Family Day (NV) • Flag Day (FL, PA) • Georgia Day (GA) • Good Friday (CT, NC) • Harvey Milk Day (CA) • Hawaii Admission Day / Statehood Day (HI) • Idaho Human Rights Day (ID) • Indiana Day (IN) • Jefferson's Birthday (AL) • Jefferson Davis Day (AL, FL) • Kamehameha Day (HI) • Lee–Jackson Day (VA) • Lincoln's Birthday (CA, CT, IL, MO, NJ, NY, IN, WV) • Lyndon Baines Johnson Day (TX) • Mardi Gras (FL, LA) • Maryland Day (MD) • Missouri Day (MO) • Native American Day (SD) • Native American Heritage Day (MD) • Nevada Day (NV) • New Jersey Day (NJ) • New Year's Eve (KY) • Obama Day (Perry County, AL) • Pascua Florida Day (FL) • Patriots' Day (ME, MA) • Pioneer Day (UT) • Primary Election Day (WI) • Prince Jonah Kuhio Kalanianaole Day (HI) • Robert E. Lee Day (FL, GA) • Ronald Reagan Day (CA) • Rosh Hashanah (TX) • San Jacinto Day (TX) • Service Reduction Day (MD) • Seward's Day (AK) • Susan B. Anthony Day (FL, WI) • Texas Independence Day (TX) • Town Meeting Day (VT) • Truman Day (MO) • Victory Day (RI) • West Virginia Day (WV) • Yom Kippur (TX)

Observances and Ceremonies (Title 36)	Carl Garner Federal Lands Cleanup Day • Child Health Day • Constitution Day • Father's Day • Gold Star Mothers Day • Law Day • Loyalty Day • Leif Erikson Day • Mother's Day • National Aviation Day • National Day of Prayer • National Defense Transportation Day • National Freedom Day • National Grandparents Day • National Korean War Veterans Armistice Day • National Maritime Day • Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day • Pan American Aviation Day • Parents' Day • Patriot Day • Peace Officers Memorial Day • Stephen Foster Memorial Day • White Cane Safety Day • Women's Equality Day • Wright Brothers Day

Holidays with religious significance	Ash Wednesday • Christmas Day • Courir de Mardi Gras • Diwali • Easter Monday • Easter Sunday • Good Friday • Hanukkah • Kwanzaa • Mardi Gras • Palm Sunday • Passover • Ramadan • Rosh Hashanah • Saint Joseph's Day • Saint Patrick's Day • Valentine's Day • Yom Kippur

Other holidays (includes Commercial holidays)	Cinco de Mayo • Earth Day • Festivus • Four Chaplains Day • Free Comic Book Day • General Pulaski Memorial Day • Groundhog Day • Halloween • May Day • New Year's Eve • Sweetest Day • Walpurgis Night

Weeks (or multiple weeks)	Chinese New Year • Constitution Week • Days of Remembrance of the Victims of the Holocaust • Hanukkah • Honor America Days • Kwanzaa • National Payroll Week • National Poison Prevention Week • Passover •

Months	American Heart Month • Asian Pacific American Heritage Month • Black History Month • Confederate History Month • Gay and Lesbian Pride Month • Jewish American Heritage Month • LGBT History Month • National Breast Cancer Awareness Month • National Hispanic Heritage Month • Ramadan • Women's History Month

This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)

Donate to Wikimedia

Translations:

Mardi

Top

Dansk (Danish)
idioms:

mardi Gras hvide tirsdag (fastelavnstirsdag), karneval i New Orleans

Français (French)
idioms:

mardi Gras Mardi gras

Deutsch (German)
idioms:

mardi Gras Karneval

Ελληνική (Greek)
idioms:

mardi Gras τελευταία ημέρα της αποκριάς (της Δ. Εκκλησίας)

Italiano (Italian)
idioms:

mardi Gras martedì grasso

Português (Portuguese)
idioms:

mardi Gras terça-feira de carnaval (f)

Русский (Russian)
вторник

idioms:

mardi Gras Марди грас (вторник на масленицу - народный праздник)

Español (Spanish)
idioms:

mardi Gras Martes de Carnaval

Svenska (Swedish)
mardi Gras - fettisdag(en), Mardi gras (karneval)

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
邮寄广告, 慈善募捐信

idioms:

mardi Gras 斋戒的前一天, 狂欢节日

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
郵寄廣告, 慈善募捐信

idioms:

mardi Gras 齋戒的前一天, 狂歡節日

한국어 (Korean)
idioms:

mardi Gras (특히 뉴올리언즈에서 유명한) 축제의 일종

日本語 (Japanese)
adj. - 太った, 謝肉祭の, マルディグラの

idioms:

mardi Gras 告解火曜日, 謝肉祭の最後の日

עברית (Hebrew)
mardi Gras - ‮קרנבל (יום ג' לפני הפסחא)‬

If you are unable to view some languages clearly, click here.

To select your translation preferences click here.

Best of the Web:

Mardi Gras

Top

Some good "Mardi Gras" pages on the web:

How?
people.howstuffworks.com

		American Heritage Dictionary. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. Read more
		Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. © 1994-2012 Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. All rights reserved. Read more
		Gale Encyclopedia of US History. Encyclopedia of American History Copyright © 2006 by The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved. Read more
		Holidays, Festivals & Celebrations of the World. Holidays, Festivals, and Celebration of the World Dictionary. Copyright © 2010 by Omnigraphics, Inc. All rights reserved. Read more
		Columbia Encyclopedia. The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition Copyright © 2012, Columbia University Press. Licensed from Columbia University Press. All rights reserved. www.cc.columbia.edu/cu/cup/. Read more
		Random House Word Menu. © 2010 Write Brothers Inc. Word Menu is a registered trademark of the Estate of Stephen Glazier. Write Brothers Inc. All rights reserved. Read more
		Rhymes. Oxford University Press. © 2006, 2007 All rights reserved. Read more
		Wikipedia on Answers.com. This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article Mardi Gras. Read more
		Translations. Copyright © 2007, WizCom Technologies Ltd. All rights reserved. Read more

	Super Mardi Gras (2000 Album by Various Artists)
	Golden Eagles (Rhythm & Blues Band, '70s, '80s)
	Shrove Tuesday (holy day, holiday – in Christianity)

	In the term \'Mardi Gras\' why does \'Gras\' come after \'Mardi\'? Read answer...
	What is Mardi Gras? Read answer...
	When is Mardi Gras? Read answer...

	Was mardi gras always called mardi gras?
	Where did they get mardi gras from?
	What is the difference between cajun mardi gras and tradional mardi gras?