ORIGIN OF MARDI GRAS Originated thousands of years ago as a pagan holiday of spring and fertility rites. ( Roman festivals of Saturnalia and Lupercalia.) Celebrated by Catholics the day before Lent. Called Fat Tuesday because it is the day when people indulge themselves in all the foods they will not be eating during the 40 day period of lent. 2

1ST APPEARANCE IN US March 3, 1699 when French explorers Iberville and Bienville landed in what is now Louisiana. Had street parties, masked balls, and lavish dinners 3

1857 A secret society of New Orleans businessmen called the Mistick Krewe of Comus started the tradition of incorporating marching bands and rolling floats. Later krewes introduced throwing beads, wearing masks, and King Cake which are now part of Mardi Gras. 4

King Cake - One Mardi Gras delicacy - a rich pastry that is decorated with a sugary icing in the Mardi Gras colors of purple, green and gold - Each cake contains one small plastic baby, and the person who finds the baby in his or her piece must host the next party. - just another quirky tradition of the season 5

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Mardi Gras Indians - hand-sewn creations of intricate beadwork and dramatic images - worn just once - the costumes take an entire year to create with hundreds of thousands of beads - brightly dyed ostrich plumes, sequins, velvet and rhinestones sewn on by hand - some weigh as much as 150 pounds! 7

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Mardi Gras on Bourbon Street 9

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Baby Dolls - they transformed the streets on Carnival Day into a bawdy free-for-all - this informal sisterhood sported frilly, titillating attire - typically, short skirts, bloomers, satin blouses and bonnets tied under their chins with ribbons. 11

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AROUND THE WORLD They celebrate it around the world where there are heavy Catholic populations such as Quebec, Brazil, and Venice. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HpjYt9Ljlyc 13

http://www.history.com/topics/mardi-gras http://mardigrasunmasked.com/carnival-101/mardi-gras-history-carnival-new-orleans http://www.neworleansonline.com/neworleans/mardigras/mardigrashistory/ 14