2010 Mardi Gras Festival in New Orleans

The most committed of the revelers in the southern US city began gathering on parade routes on a freezing Monday night to camp out ready for the big event.

“We’re back!” Lawton Fabacher, 29, a native New Orleanian said as she sprayed gray paint on a replica of the Saints Super Bowl trophy before a parade Sunday night. Tens of thousands of spectators dressed in Valentine-red mingled with Saints fans attired in team colors of black-and-gold, mixed in with traditional Carnival colors of purple, green and gold. Despite near-freezing temperatures overnight, hundreds of ladders and tents lined the streetcar tracks of the historic avenue. Their owners camped out in anticipation of a full morning of parades, marching bands and floats.

Also known as “fat Tuesday,” this pre-Lenten festival is celebrated in Roman Catholic countries and communities. In a strict sense, Mardi Gras, or Shrove Tuesday, is celebrated by the French as the last of the three days of Shrovetide and is a time of preparation immediately before Ash Wednesday and the start of the fast of Lent. Mardi Gras is thus the last opportunity for merrymaking and indulgence in food and drink. In practice, the festival is generally celebrated for one full week before Lent. Mardi Gras is marked by spectacular parades featuring floats, pageants, elaborate costumes, masked balls, and people dancing in the streets.

Mardi Gras originated as one of the series of carnival days held in all Roman Catholic countries between Twelfth Night, or Epiphany, and Ash Wednesday; these carnivals had their origin in pre-Christian spring fertility rites. The most famous modern Mardi Gras festivities are those held in New Orleans, La.; Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; Nice, France; and Cologne, Germany.