Mardi Gras & Carnival

What is Mardi Gras?

Mardi Gras is the last day of the Carnival season — the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday. The name is French for “Fat Tuesday,” referring to the tradition of eating rich, fatty foods before the Lenten fast begins at midnight. It falls on the same date as Shrove Tuesday in the UK.

The Carnival season begins on Epiphany — 6 January — and builds to its climax on Mardi Gras. In Catholic tradition, Lent is a 40-day period of fasting and abstinence from meat, dairy, and eggs. Mardi Gras is the last opportunity to feast before those restrictions begin. In practice, this means the grandest parades, the most elaborate costumes, and the most excessive food of the year all converge on a single Tuesday.

The celebrations vary enormously by country and city. New Orleans is known for its street parades, brass bands, and bead-throwing floats. Venice has masked balls and elaborate costumes dating back to the 18th century. Rio de Janeiro has the Sambódromo — a purpose-built parade venue where samba schools compete across several days. Trinidad has steelpan, calypso, and mas (masquerade) bands. What unifies them all is the same underlying logic: feast before the fast.

Is Mardi Gras the same as Shrove Tuesday?

Yes — Mardi Gras and Shrove Tuesday fall on exactly the same day every year. They are different names for the same occasion, used in different countries and languages.

The root is the same across all these traditions: the Christian liturgical calendar places Ash Wednesday as the start of Lent, and the day before it — Tuesday — became the occasion for final feasting. Whether you call it Mardi Gras, Shrove Tuesday, or Pancake Day, the occasion is identical: eat richly before the fast.

Why is it called Fat Tuesday?

“Fat Tuesday” is a direct translation of “Mardi Gras” in French: mardi means Tuesday, gras means fat. The “fat” refers to the rich foods — meat, lard, butter, eggs, cream — consumed before Lent began.

In medieval Catholic practice, Lent was a strict 40-day fast during which meat, dairy, and eggs were all prohibited. For most households, Shrove Tuesday was the last chance to consume these foods before they became forbidden — and the practical solution was to use them all up in one meal. Pancakes (in Britain), doughnuts (in Poland), cream buns (in Scandinavia), and Krapfen (in Germany) all served the same function: recipes that used up eggs, butter, and dairy in a single preparation.

Over time, the practical urgency to use up perishables became a full cultural celebration — a “last feast” that grew into carnivals, parades, and public spectacles. The word “Carnival” itself likely derives from the Latin carne vale — “farewell to meat” — though some scholars trace it instead to carrus navalis, a ship-shaped cart used in ancient Roman festivals. Either way, the core meaning is departure: goodbye to the foods and freedoms of ordinary life before the austerity of Lent.

Mardi Gras in New Orleans

New Orleans holds the most famous Mardi Gras celebration in the United States and one of the largest in the world. French explorers first marked the occasion near the site of present-day New Orleans in 1699 — making it one of the oldest continuous Carnival celebrations in North America.

The modern New Orleans celebration is organised around krewes — civic organisations that design and fund the parade floats. Each krewe has its own parade route, theme, and traditions. The oldest krewe still parading is the Mystick Krewe of Comus, founded in 1857. Riders on floats throw “throws” — most famously, beads in the Mardi Gras colours of purple (justice), green (faith), and gold (power).

The signature food is king cake: an oval pastry braided and decorated with purple, green, and gold icing and sugar. Hidden inside is a small plastic baby figure. Whoever finds the baby is said to have good luck — and, by tradition, must supply the king cake at the next party.

The most concentrated celebrations take place on the stretch of Bourbon Street and the French Quarter in the final two weeks of Carnival, culminating in Mardi Gras itself.

Venice Carnival

Venice Carnival (Carnevale di Venezia) is one of the oldest and most theatrical in the world. Historical records document Carnival celebrations in Venice from 1162 — though the golden age of the Venetian Carnival was the 18th century, when the city was a centre of European pleasure-seeking and the masked ball (ballo in maschera) was the dominant social form.

The defining image of Venice Carnival is the elaborate mask. The most iconic are the bauta (a white mask with a prominent chin that allows eating and drinking without removal) and the colombina (a half-mask worn with elaborate costume). Masks were historically used to equalise social status — in Carnival Venice, a masked figure could be anyone, from a senator to a servant.

The modern Carnival was revived in 1979 after a long decline. It now runs for roughly two weeks before Mardi Gras and draws around 3 million visitors. Key events include the opening “Flight of the Angel” (Volo dell'Angelo), where a performer descends by wire from the bell tower of St Mark's Basilica, and the Masked Ball contest in St Mark's Square.

Rio de Janeiro Carnival

Rio's Carnival is the world's largest by attendance. An estimated 2 million people take to the streets each day of the main event, which runs across the five days before Ash Wednesday.

The centrepiece is the Sambódromo Marquês de Sapucaí — a purpose-built parade venue seating 70,000 spectators, designed by Oscar Niemeyer and opened in 1984. Samba schools (escolas de samba) are civic organisations that spend the entire year preparing elaborate floats, costumes, and choreography for a single performance during Carnival. Each school's parade lasts around 80 minutes and is judged by a panel on criteria including rhythm, harmony, theme, and costume.

Alongside the Sambódromo parades, street parties called blocos bring millions more onto the streets across the city. The oldest and most prominent bloco is Cordão do Bola Preta, founded in 1918, which can draw over a million people in a single afternoon.

When is Mardi Gras?

Mardi Gras falls on the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday — the same day as Shrove Tuesday and Pancake Day. The date changes every year because it is tied to Easter.

Frequently Asked Questions

More Shrove Tuesday traditions

Sources & further reading

• Mardi Gras — Wikipedia
• Fat Tuesday. Shrove Tuesday. Carnivale. Mardi Gras. Pancake Day. — The Translation Company
• Carnevale di Venezia — official records
• Mystick Krewe of Comus — New Orleans historical society records