What is Fat Tuesday?

Fat Tuesday is Mardi Gras, where ‘Gras’ is French for ‘fat’ and ‘Mardi’ is French for ‘Tuesday’. The name comes from the tradition of slaughtering and feasting on a fattened calf on the last day of a carnival. The annual festivities start on January 6, the Twelfth Night Feast of the Epiphany, when the three kings are supposed to have visited the Christ, and build to a climax on Mardi Gras, or Fat Tuesday, which always occurs on the day before Ash Wednesday. Parties and parades continue until the beginning of Lent. Mardi Gras is scheduled to occur 46 days before Easter. Since the actual date of Easter changes yearly, Mardi Gras can take place on any Tuesday between February 3 and March 9.

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Fat Tuesday is Mardi Gras, the festival New Orleans, Louisiana, is famous for. “Gras” is French for fat and “Mardi” is French for Tuesday.

The annual festivities start on January 6, the Twelfth Night Feast of the Epiphany, when the three kings are supposed to have visited the Christ Child, and build to a climax on Mardi Gras, or Fat Tuesday, which always occurs on the day before Ash Wednesday. The parties and parades will continue until Lent begins at the stroke of midnight on Tuesday.

Mardi Gras is a legal holiday in New Orleans. It is scheduled to occur 46 days before Easter. Since the actual date Easter occurs on changes yearly, Mardi Gras can happen on any Tuesday between February 3 and March 9.

For two centuries it has been an annual event in New Orleans, except during the two World Wars.