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mardi gras

By day, spectacular floats hosting costumed-tenants in elaborate purple, green and gold ensemble parade down Bourbon Street. By night, partygoers attend exotic masked balls and dance wildly in the streets of the French Quarter.

And get this- rumor has it that, if you present a young woman a bead necklace, she just might show you her boobs.

Who ever said Roman Catholics don't know how to party?

Mardi Gras, which is French for "Fat Tuesday," is actually only one day- the day before Ash Wednesday- and this year will be celebrated on March 7. However, thousands generally flock to the Carnival in "N'Orleans" to indulge in food and drink for a full week in a joyous festival held in the Crescent City.

Carnival refers to the season of revelry before Mardi Gras. It officially begins on January 6, which is known as Twelfth Night or Kings' Day, so named because it falls 12 days after Christmas on the day the Wise Men are said to have reached Bethlehem.

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. It originated as one of the series of carnival days held in Roman Catholic countries between Twelfth Night, or Epiphany, and Ash Wednesday.

But in New Orleans, the scene is hardly saintly and far from tranquil. The weeklong carnival is infamous for being one of the biggest and rowdiest parties on the planet.

Mardi Gras celebrations fall into two categories: public and private.

Carnival balls are private, formal parties given by clubs called krewes for its members and their guests, and have always been a vital component of the celebration. There are about 140 balls each year, and they're held anywhere from high school auditoriums to grand ballrooms.

A ball consists of a royal court with a king and queen, dukes and duchesses and the like, who are presented in lavish costumes to an audience of invited guests. The more traditional balls present tableaux, which are staged pageants that depict stories, usually from mythology or history.

The first of these is always the Twelfth Night Ball, held on January 6, by the Twelfth Night Revelers. This signals the start of Carnival season. Traditional balls are still the most popular, with 87 organizations hosting them. Another 23 present tableaux followed by balls or supper dances. Eighteen krewes have changed to supper dances alone, while seven stage balls are followed by dances.

Some krewes sell tickets to their balls, but most are made up of FONOF-- fine old New Orleans families.

The public celebrations take the form of parades, sponsored by the same krewes that hold the balls for members only. Not every krewe has a parade, although every krewe will throw a party for its members.

The parade season officially begins on the second Friday before Mardi Gras, although the parade calendar is expanding. At the beginning of the season, parades are held on weekends only, then become more frequent until the week prior to Mardi Gras, where there's at least one parade per day.

According to the festival's hosts, the prime time to party in the French Quarter starts the Friday before Mardi Gras Day and continues until the end of that Tuesday. There are 32 parades this year in the New Orleans area during this five-day period.

photos courtesy mardigras.com Mardi gras brings cities to life every year as partiers dress up and take to the streets. mardi gras also known as fat tuesday celebrated around the world on march 7

Each parade has a theme, usually borrowed from mythology, history or Hollywood. Most of these mock royalty, kings and queens and dukes and duchesses, either drawn from the ranks of the krewe's members or celebrities. Float riders often throw trinkets such as beads, doubloons, small toys and candy into the crowd (these are called, not so peculiarly, "throws").

For those who don't enjoy the company of large crowds, the best time to visit is the preceding weekend. This year there were 15 parades and the if it's similar to most years, the crowds weren't as heavy and the behavior wasn't quite as rowdy.

Much like any Spring Break destination, nudity has become a theme synonymous with Mardi Gras (see sidebar on Girls of Mardi Gras). Flashing bare breasts and other flesh revelations are not uncommon sights on the streets of the French Quarter.

But, as The Associated Press reported on Tuesday, police arrested 360 tourists in New Orleans for exposing themselves during last year's festivities and are warning this year's crowd to keep their clothes on or face even more arrests.

The Carnival season ends at the stroke of midnight on Mardi Gras. Those partying outside on Bourbon Street have to move inside as a platoon of police officers and street sweepers clear off the street from one end to the other.

Some say the 5-0 will book anyone who lingers in the streets past midnight. So be careful-- Mardi Gras may be the time of your life-- but nothing's worth ending up in a jail cell with a bunch of beer-goggled drunks pissed off they didn't get lucky.

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