Mardi Gras is an international celebration but, in the US, it is synonymous of New Orleans, where there are many weeks of parades and festivities. In fact, the celebrations last about two months: it starts in early January and culminate on Mardi Gras Day that, this year, in on February 16th.

Mardi Gras is originally a French celebration where it is called “Fat Tuesday” because it was the last day when Christians could eat rich and delicious foods before Lent.

The first parade in New Orleans was in 1837 by groups called “krewes”.

Each parade contains up to 40 elaborate floats based on one theme. But it’s not that easy! The organization of the festival and the preparation of the floats costs thousands of dollars and takes an entire year to create.

During the parades, the krewes throw pearls as they parade through the crowd of spectators between music, dancing and alcohol.  Obviously  this expensive floats would have been exhibited at Mardi Gras world, in particular in a tourist attraction in Gretna, Louisiana, but this year, because of the pandemic, Mardi Gras and the most famous Carnival celebrations in the world have been shut down.

Of course, this annual appointment for more than  two weeks of merry-making will be impossible to take place so you may have a visit to its  museum or you can watch video presentation and explore the 300,000 square-foot warehouse but you can also watch the construction of one of the floats, can try a traditional costume and, at the end, gets a slice of King Cake, a typical French cake.

This cake comes in different varieties and normally has a small plastic baby, representing Baby Jesus, a symbol of prosperity and good fortune but, this plastic baby is inside and, the person who finds it, is designated the King or Queen and, next year, they must buy the Cake.

I love Carnival and it is a chance for people to feel free from the strict social rules that regulate our daily life. Yet at the same time, it is traditionally a time for people to voice their thoughts about major social and political issues through creative parodies. This year all Carnival fans like me will find original ways to celebrate the joy of life despite the challenges, which is really what Carnival is about after all.