Mardi Gras

/mahr"dee grah', grah"/

1. the day before Lent, celebrated in some cities, as New Orleans and Paris, as a day of carnival and merrymaking; Shrove Tuesday.

2. a pre-Lenten carnival period climaxing on this day.

[1690-1700; < F: lit., fat Tuesday]

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(French: "Fat Tuesday") Carnival celebrated on or culminating on Shrove Tuesday, the day before Ash Wednesday, the start of Lent.

Traditionally, households consumed all the remaining foods that would be forbidden during Lent (e.g., eggs) on that day. It is a one-day event in France, but in the U.S. it lasts several days in New Orleans, where it is marked by parades, street celebrations, and extravagant costumes.

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▪ carnival

FrenchFat Tuesday

  festive day celebrated in France on Shrove Tuesday (the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday), which marks the close of the pre-Lenten season. In the United States the festival is most elaborately celebrated in New Orleans. See carnival.

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