5 Things You Didn’t Know About Mardi Gras

Mardi Gras is the most talked about holiday this time of the year, especially in New Orleans, Louisiana. St. Louis is known for hosting the 2nd biggest Mardi Gras in the United States, only behind that of New Orleans. Were you a part of that tradition last weekend?

Take a look at 5 things you probably didn’t know about Mardi Gras:

1.      Mardi Gras is the French saying for Fat Tuesday. Fat Tuesday is always the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday. This name came to be when the people of France would eat tons of food the day before Ash Wednesday, as they would fast afterward for Lent.

2.       “Laissez les bon temps rouler” (lay-say le bon tom roo-lay) is one of the most famous sayings of the Mardi Gras and French Tradition. Laissez les bon temps rouler” simply means “let the good times roll.”

3.       King Cakes add an old meaning and tradition to the celebration of Mardi Gras. Somewhere located on the bottom of each King Cake is a small hidden plastic baby. This baby represents baby Jesus when he was first seen by the three wise men who were all kings. When someone gets the piece with the baby in it, they are supposed to provide the next King Cake at the next celebration.

4.       The parades during Mardi Gras are quite elaborate as each Krewe puts on their own parade. Masks must be worn by each of the Krewe members as it is illegal otherwise. Each Krewe chooses a different theme every year and decorate their floats immensely.

5.       The colors of Mardi Gras are purple, green, and gold. Each of these colors have a different meaning that is unique to the holiday. The color purple represents justice, green stands for faith, and gold symbolizes power.