What Is Mardi Gras?
The term Mardi Gras literally means "fat Tuesday," the day before Ash Wednesday. Most famously associated with New Orleans, Mardi Gras is the annual, fun-filled celebration that commemorates the final days before the start of the Lenten season. For centuries, people around the globe have sowed their wild oats in preparation for the Christian season of fasting and repentance prior to Easter. This long standing European tradition (also known as "carnival") was brought to Louisiana by the French in the late 1600s. By the 1850s, private local social organizations called "krewes" were formed to help preserve Mardi Gras through the hosting of a multitude of parades, balls and other events that feature spectacular floats, colorful throw beads and tasty king cakes.

Quick Facts About Mardi Gras

· There is a distinction between Mardi Gras and Carnival. Mardi Gras is a single day that is the climax for the Carnival season. The Carnival season begins on January 6th (or Twelfth Night) and runs until Ash Wednesday. Carnival can run as long as two months, depending on the church calendar. This year Mardi Gras is Tuesday, February 24, 2009.

· The first Mardi Gras parade was held in New Orleans on Feb. 24, 1857. The Krewe of Comus began the tradition of presenting parade floats followed by a masquerade ball for the krewe and their guests.

· There are currently nearly 40 krewes in New Orleans. Some of the more famous ones include Krewe of Bacchus, Krewe of Lake Pontchartrain, Krewe of Zulu, and Mardi Gras Indians.

· The official colors of Mardi Gras: Purple (for justice), Green (for faith) and Gold (for power).
· By law, float riders in parades must always have a mask on. On Fat Tuesday, masking is legal for everyone else.

· Mardi Gras is celebrated throughout the state of Louisiana (and also in Alabama and Florida). Other famous Mardi Gras, or Carnival, celebrations occur in Mobile, Alabama; Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; Venice, Italy; and the Caribbean island nation of Trindad & Tobago.

· The French phrase "Laissez les bon temps rouler!" is often uttered during Mardi Gras and means "Let the good times roll!"

What's The Deal With The Beads

The tradition of float riders throwing trinkets to the crowds began in the 1870s. Typical throws include beads, cups, doubloons, and stuffed animal. On Bourbon Street and in the French Quarter it is common for revelers to "earn" beads: women by showing their bare breasts and men, to a lesser extent, by surreptitiously flashing their penises. (Not surpisingly, in the gay section of Bourbon Street, penis-flashing isn't so surreptitious.) The bigger the breasts or penis, usually the bigger the beads ­ known as "blow beads" - that are earned. Flashers are forewarned that they are subject to arrest for violating decency laws, especially if their actions are deemed extreme and/or potentially dangerous (from a crowd control standpoint).

Gay Mardi Gras

The lower French Quarter is the center for Gay Mardi Gras, where the costumes are more extravagant and the earning of beads sometimes more brazen. Highlights of Gay Mardi Gras include "The Night of the Black Mask," the South's Oldest Leather Block Party that's held the Friday before Mardi Gras; the Bourbon Street Awards, the ultimate costume contest, held on Mardi Gras Tuesday at Noon in front of the nightclub Oz (at the intersection of Boubroin and St Ann Streets); and the annual Krewe of Queenateenas (KOQ) Official Gay Mardi Gras Bead Toss, which convenes at 2pm every Mardi Gras and that is led by the KOQ's reigning King Cake Queen. Additionally, non-stop dance parties with world-class DJs and the best of strippers at Oz Nightclub and Bourbon Street Pub & Parade help make Gay Mardi Gras that much more fun and outrageous. For the most up to date info about Gay Mardi Gras events in New Orleans check out www.gaymardigras.com