Mardi Gras is a celebration at the beginning of the Christian Lent season. Cities that celebrate Mardi Gras typically have a festive parade with music and costumes.
The most well-known Mardi Gras celebration happens in New Orleans, Louisiana. Though Mardi Gras literally means "fat Tuesday" in French, and the holiday falls on Shrove Tuesday, the day before the Christian holiday Ash Wednesday, the celebration lasts much longer. For days, revelers play music and dance in the streets, many of them wearing masks and costumes. Historically, Mardi Gras was called "fat Tuesday" because it was the final day to feast before the fasting and praying of Lent.