Mardi Gras

Mardi Gras (Fat Tuesday) is a festival held the day before Ash Wednesday (shrove Tuesday) which signifies the end of the Carnival season and the start of Lent. Many cities (especially those with large Catholic populations) like New Orleans are famous for their Mardi Gras.

During Mardi Gras, almost everyone takes part in celebrating with lavish parades and parties. Many different people celebrate Mardi Gras in their own way, some people have small parties and eat many of the tasty pastries and some people have huge parties and celebrate in a big way. Some of the pastries they eat are called king's cake, hot cross buns, punchskis, tricolor scrolls and thick sugar cookies. There are many more things that other people eat but these are the usual American celebration food for mardi gras. There are so many different parades and kinds of celebrations.

In some countries, including the United Kingdom, Ireland and Australia, the day is called Shrove Tuesday, Fat Tuesday, Pancake Tuesday or Pancake Day.

Mardi Gras is also celebrated in French speaking countries.