Mardi gras (mär´di grä)  The  last day before the 6 weeks of fasting during 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. Here in South Louisiana Mardi Gras is a very big event, but more and more it is being celebrated in various places outside of Louisiana...crowds gather to watch the parades and catch the beads and baubles thrown from elaborately decorated floats... "Throw me sumpin mista" is a common phrase heard along the parade route. In times gone by people would ride on horseback through the countryside, stopping at farmhouses along the way asking for something to put in the pot...after returning to the local town square they would then add all the ingredients they had gathered into a large cast iron cooking pot and make a gumbo...this custom is still practiced in some rural areas of Louisiana today. Mardi Gras revelers dress in fancy costumes and wear elaborately decorated masks to shield their idenity. Local "krewes" are formed and hold balls and elect kings and queens to rule during the Mardi Gras celebration. These events also function to raise money to pay for the floats and beads that are thrown to the eager crowds during parades. The Colors of Mardi Gras   Page by EvieJo aka Cowgirl Countdown banner courtesy  http://ult-tex.net/counts/index.cgi All tubes and graphics used in making this page are to the best of my knowledge copyright free.