Mardi Gras...

Mardi Gras is the day before Ash Wednesday, and is also called "Shrove Tuesday" or "Pancake Day". It is the final day of Carnival .

Perhaps the cities most famous for their Mardi Gras celebrations include New Orleans, Rio de Janeiro, Venice, Salvador da Bahia, and Mazatlán.

Many other places have important Mardi Gras celebrations as well. The carnival is an important celebration in most of Europe , and in many parts of Latin America and the Caribbean.

Mardi Gras in New Orleans, Louisiana is one of the most famous Carnival celebrations in the world
The New Orleans Carnival season, with roots in Catholic ritual, starts on Twelfth Night (January 6). The season of parades, balls (some of them masquerade balls), and king cake parties begins on that date.
From about two weeks before, through Fat Tuesday, there is at least one major parade each day. The largest and most elaborate parades take place the last five days of the season. In the final week of Carnival many events large and small occur throughout New Orleans and surrounding communities.
The parades in New Orleans are organized by Carnival krewes. Krewe float riders toss throws to the crowds; the most common throws are strings, usually made of plastic colorful beads, doubloons...
To New Orleanians, "Mardi Gras" refers only to the final and most elaborate day of the Carnival Season; visitors tend to refer to the entire Carnival as "Mardi Gras."