To kick off the month of March, people across the world celebrated in the best way possible: with Mardi Gras and a lot of food, sparkles, and partying. Mardi Gras, also known as Carnival in many places, is a great day of celebration before the 40 days of Lent leading to Easter. The festivities are well known for their theatrical nature as people dress up in extravagant costumes and makeup, and the Carnival hotspots draw in people from all over the world.
Mardi Gras 2025 landed on March 4. The most well known hotspot for Mardi Gras is New Orleans, and the city is known for its extravagant festivities. The word “mardi gras” literally translates to Fat Tuesday in French, signaling the last day people could indulge in meat before giving it up for Catholic Lent. New Orleans Mardi Gras is categorized by the colors purple, green, and gold, alongside copious amounts of glitter and beaded necklaces.
New Orleans Mardi Gras this year was just as exciting as years past, with carnival season beginning on February 14 and the finale happening on Fat Tuesday itself. The final day of the celebration featured some of the most popular parades of the season, including the Order of Athena, the Knights of Revelry, and the Order of Myths Parade. The parades trace a loop throughout the city that sometimes spans more than six miles.
The three largest parades in the city are the ones for the Krewes of Endymion, Bacchus and Muses. The Krewe of Endymion, founded in 1967, travels through mid-city New Orleans and consists of 37 super-floats and 3,200 male riders. The Krewe of Bacchus parade, founded in 1968, takes place in Uptown New Orleans and has 32 super-floats and 1,700 male riders. The Krewe of Muses was founded in 2000 and consists of 26 super-floats and 1,118 female riders.
The history of Mardis Gras is deeply tied into the history of New Orleans as a city. In 1699, French-Canadian Explorer Jean Baptiste Le Moyne Sieur de Bienville established the settlement Pointe du Mardi Gras. It was named as such because the explorers realized it was the day before the French holiday. Bienville established New Orleans in 1718, and the celebration of Mardi Gras has been documented in the city since the 1730s.
While the early celebrations of Mardi Gras took on the form of elegant balls, by the late 1700s, the notion of a Mardi Gras carnival was widespread. By the early 19th century, people could look forward to parades of horses, carriages, and people in costume and masks. In the 20th and 21st centuries, the parades have only grown in size, and Mardi Gras remains an annual staple of the New Orleans community.
~ Moya Stringer `25
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