Mardi Gras! :)

Here's some background info for all who don't know what Mardi Gras is :

The first recorded Mardi Gras parade was in 1827 in New Orleans, but a wealthy man named Bernard Marigny made it a yearly festival in 1833. The term 'Mardi Gras' is french for "Fat Tuesday." (When I went up to the northern United States, where they do not celebrate Mardi Gras, people pronounced it with the 's' on the end. It is not Mardi GraSS. It is pronounced more like 'Graw' like in Tim McGraw's name. [Just to let you know :wink:]) Mardi Gras is celebrated on the day before Ash Wednesday. This year Ash Wednesday falls on February 21, making Mardi Gras the 20 (which is tomorrow). Although the day of Mardi Gras is on the 20, there are many parades before that day. There are many different types of parades, with all different names (most of the names are "Krewe of ___", but not all of them.) During the parade, the people on the floats throw beads to you. People crowd around the floats (they think that the closer you are the more beads you get, but most of the time the people on the floats throw the beads to the people in the back, just to see if they can throw it right to you.) You catch one, and put it around your neck. Sooner or later that one bead will turn into many beads, and you'll find that your neck gets pretty heavy with all those beads around them. Floats don't only throw beads. They throw stuffed animals for little kids, plastic cups (usually with the name of the parade on them), and t-shirts (once again, with the name of the parade on them). The thing I like most about Mardi Gras is the MUSIC. Mardi Gras music is the best. It has a jazzy tune to it (remember, New Orleans was where the first parade was, and  New Orleans is king of jazz). I think my favorite song is the "Mardi Gras Mambo". :) Mardi Gras has three main colors : purple, green, and gold. I don't know why, to tell you the truth. (If you know why, please PM me. I've always wondered why.) All I know is that when you go to a parade, it is filled with purple, green, and gold.

Ok. I think that's it. If you have any questions, feel free to PM me. Now I get to tell you what I did for Mardi Gras :

I went down to New Orleans, and the cities surrounding it, and went to as many parades as I could go to. It was very fun, and I came home with trash bags full of beads. I have no idea what I'll do with them. I don't see why some parts of the United States don't celebrate Mardi Gras. It's really a very fun holiday.

I've been celebrating Mardi Gras for as long as I can remember. When I was little, though, we didn't go to New Orleans for parades. We'd go to the ones around where we lived. We still do, actually. :)

I hope everyone has a Happy Mardi Gras!