The other celebration that is quite famous globally is Fat Tuesday or Mardi Gras in New Orleans. Like the the carnival in Rio and in Venice, the New Orleans celebration is a festival before the start of the Lenten season. The tradition was introduced to Northern America by the Le Moyne brothers who are French. The brothers Pierre and Jean-Baptiste, were sent by King Louis XIV to defend France's claim on its territory of Louisiane in the late 17th century. During that time the French territory included what we now know as the states of Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana.
By 1720, Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne ordered his engineer, Adrien de Pauger, to draw plans for a new city. In 1721 the eleven-by-seven block rectangle plan was drawn and that area is what is now known as the French Quarter. Le Moyne named this new city La Nouvelle Orleans, in honor of Philippe II, Duke of Orleans, Prince Regent of France. In 1723, New Orleans became the capital of French Louisiana.
The New Orleans festival is best known for its parties, parades, marching bands, dancing and unfortunately bar fights and rowdiness. Beads are the hot item during this event. Revelers believe that the more beads you earn, the more popular you are and likeable...it is funny to think that people literally expose themselves to the public to earn beads and more beads. Although I must say that the celebration is simply much nicer if you hang out with your friends and listen to the bands play. New Orleans, certainly the Big Easy - the place to kick-off a great party right before forty days of Lent.
Photo Credit: Bands of the Mardi Gras
Photographer: MChoquette Jr.
Photo Link: http://www.flickr.com/photos/mchoquettejr/
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