Mardi Gras became an official holiday to Christians in 1582 when Pope Gregory XIII sanctioned it and placed it on the 12 month Gregorian calendar that we use today.
He placed it on Fat Tuesday, the day before Ash Wednesday which begins Lent. Prior to the pope’s making it official, there were celebrations by nobles being held by invitation only. The French brought Mardi Gras to the Americas in 1699.
Mardi Gras parades are held all along the Gulf Coast and not just on Fat Tuesday. We looked at various schedules and the earliest parade that we saw scheduled was on January 29 in Mobile, AL.
We decided to go a small town Mardi Gras parade in Orange Grove, MS on Sat. February 6. This is a town just north of Gulfport, MS. The parade started at 2:00 and we arrived about noon and people were already lined up along the parade route. We did not realize how serious the people are about Mardi. The parades, balls and parties are a happening for all to partake. It is impossible not to catch beads along with various souvenirs. The people on the floats just keep throwing them and if you don’t catch them you can get hit by them. There was plenty of drinking and partying done by all.
He placed it on Fat Tuesday, the day before Ash Wednesday which begins Lent. Prior to the pope’s making it official, there were celebrations by nobles being held by invitation only. The French brought Mardi Gras to the Americas in 1699.
Mardi Gras parades are held all along the Gulf Coast and not just on Fat Tuesday. We looked at various schedules and the earliest parade that we saw scheduled was on January 29 in Mobile, AL.
We decided to go a small town Mardi Gras parade in Orange Grove, MS on Sat. February 6. This is a town just north of Gulfport, MS. The parade started at 2:00 and we arrived about noon and people were already lined up along the parade route. We did not realize how serious the people are about Mardi. The parades, balls and parties are a happening for all to partake. It is impossible not to catch beads along with various souvenirs. The people on the floats just keep throwing them and if you don’t catch them you can get hit by them. There was plenty of drinking and partying done by all.
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