By: Jessica

"Throw me something Mister!!" This is heard in Louisiana during Mardi Gras. Mardi Gras has been celebrated in Louisiana for about 300 years. Mardi Gras is held anywhere between February 3th to March 9th. No matter when it is held it is always forty-seven days before Easter Sunday.

Mardi Gras means "Fat Tuesday" in French. Sometimes it is consider the "last hurrah" because at twelve o'clock midnight the huge party in New Orleans ends suddenly because the religious holiday of Lent has begun.

The first Mardi Gras parade in New Orleans took place in 1837. Two years later the parade added floats. At the parades the float riders dress in costume and toss beads and doubloons at the parade watchers. Mardi Gras is New Orleans' largest festival. For a city in southeastern Louisiana with a population of about 484,674, the city gets jam packed with about two million tourist who come to see the parades.

A popular Mardi Gras food is the King Cake. Around 1870 the Twelth Night Revelers started the tradition of the King Cake by giving a lady a cake with a golden bean inside. Today people in Louisiana buy King Cakes of all flavors and stuffings to celebrate Mardi Gras. Instead of looking for golden beans, people look for the baby hidden in the cake.

Along with the King Cake, Mardi Gras also has itws own colors. The colors purple, green, and gold are often related to Mardi Gras. The purple color stands for the symbol of justice. The green color represents faith. Finally the gold color stands for power.

If you every come to New Orleans during Mardi Gras, you will probably hear "throw me something mister" and experience the power of Mardi Gras.