New Orleans celebrates Mardi Gras, the indulgent conclusion of Carnival season
NEW ORLEANS, Louisiana — As people return to work Tuesday after the long holiday weekend, beads will fly, crawfish will boil and parades will roll through New Orleans as the city celebrates Mardi Gras.
Mardi Gras, also known as Mardi Gras, marks the culmination and end of the week-long Carnival season and a final chance for indulgence, feasting and revelry before the period of sacrifice and reflection of Christian Lent. Joyful farewells to Carnival always fall on the eve of Ash Wednesday.
Among the latest parades organized in Louisiana’s most populous city, known worldwide for its Mardi Gras celebration, is the one organized by Zulu Social Aide. & Pleasure Club.
Marchers and riders of the Zulu parade float wear African-inspired clothing and “throws” – trinkets including plastic beads, candies, doubloons, stuffed animals, cups and toys. This parade’s signature “throw” is made of hand-decorated coconuts, coveted items that many party-goers hope for.
Later in the day, Rex, the King of Carnival parade will roll along St. Charles Avenue, lined with spectators and majestic oak trees covered in moss and Spanish pearls.
Carnival events are popular for their spectacular, enormous floats, as well as the intricate outfits worn, such as the black masked Indians, whose beaded and jeweled costumes are topped with feathered headdresses, or the parade spectators strolling through the French Quarter in homemade costumes that capture the unique spirit of the Big Easy.
The good times will roll not only in New Orleans but across the state, from exclusive balls to the Cajun French tradition of the Courir de Mardi Gras, or Fat Tuesday Run – a rural event in central Louisiana where costumed participants perform, beg for ingredients and chase after live chickens to cook in a communal gumbo.
Parades also take place in other Gulf Coast cities, such as Mobile, Alabama, and Pensacola, Florida, and other world-famous celebrations take place in Brazil and Europe.
