Mardi Gras

Mardi Gras is a colorful celebration that takes place before Lent itself in New Orleans. If you translate mardi gras into Russian, you get "fat Tuesday." The celebration of Mardi Gras can be safely compared with Maslenitsa in Russia, but if we take into account the traditions of this event, it is more like the annual carnival in Brazil.

The first such festivities took place in Europe, namely in France, from where it originates. There have long been traditions for which Catholics gathered before Lent itself to arrange a farewell celebration, which was necessarily accompanied by fun and delicious food. Over time, this holiday reached many countries around the world, but it reached a special scale in this American city. New Orleans is filled with Frenchmen, famous all over the world for this farewell merry party called Mardi Gras. The holiday takes place every year on the Tuesday of Maslenitsa week. The very first Mardi Gras was celebrated by students back in 1827, who are its founders.

Modern celebrations of this festival simply cannot be compared with the very first ones, since today's holiday is simply held at the highest level and millions of tourists from all over the world are in a hurry to see it. A distinctive feature of this event from similar carnivals in other countries is the musical accompaniment. It is known that it was in New Orleans that such a type of music as jazz originated. It is these fascinating motifs that accompany the entire Mardi Gras.

The carnival is built in such a way that trumpeters and saxophonists lead on the main street, followed by lavishly decorated platforms with honorary people, especially the mayor of the city.

The most important personalities of the holiday are the King and Queen, who were chosen from among the residents of the city for their special services over the past year.

There is a tradition of sprinkling a lot of beads that fly at people from the platforms themselves. It is considered the main decoration of Mardi Gras. Beads, which necessarily come in three colors, namely purple, golden and green, should be kept in every family throughout the next year.

These beads are sold in special shops on the day of the celebration, but it is the duty of each participant of the festival to earn them, for which it is necessary to stand out from the crowd, than to attract the attention of the Royals. Often, during the fun, hot girls, warmed up with alcoholic beverages, bare their breasts, which attracts the gaze of the King and Queen, who sprinkle them with beads. There is no age category or any age or body type restrictions for such "antics." This behavior of people on the streets during Mardi Gras gave the city the name "crazy city."

Locals in the United States prepare for this celebration in advance. They come up with an image for themselves, sew costumes, and also buy various masks, rehearse, and of course, dress up platforms. Officially, Mardi Gras lasts until 22:00, but usually the procession on the streets of the city does not stop until the morning.