Today is Mardi Gras in New Orleans, but for millions of Christians around the world, and especially the United States this is Carnivale or Fat Tuesday. The day before the first day of lent which is commenced with Ash Wednesday tomorrow.
A little history of the event and where Mardi Gras came from is a neat way to start a homage to this celebration that is synonomous with New Orleans. To begin, just like most celebrations that were brought over from the proverbial “old world”, so was Mardi Gras. Just like the feast of Christmas, if we look to history, incorporated the holiday of Satranella with the Birth of Jesus Christ when the Emporer Constantine made Christianity the official religion of the empire, so to became Mardi Gras. The roman celebration of Lupercalia was combined with the feast before the lenten period. Well as time went on, the celebration of Mardi Gras became a grand festival each year in Paris. The fact that the New Orleans area was settled by the French we can all see how logic dictates the progression of this great celebration.
The first document Mardi Gras parade was in 1837, under the United States rule. The celebration evolved to the grand spectatcular that it is today.
Each year millions of people descend on the New Orleans area to celebrate this festival born in antiquity. New Orleans has certainly seen some tough times as of late, and the hope is to get people interested in visiting this wonderful city and their unique festival today and into the future.
For everyone out there, on behalf of Travel Ape and all of his friends, have a happy and safe Mardi Gras celebration.
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