Mardi Gras!
Every year the World kicks off with costumed colour and celebration that is Mardi Gras.
An Aruba dancer performs in the Caribbean
Mardi Gras
Mardi Gras; an annual celebration of indulgence, parades and dancing, enjoyed by characters that are often as extravagant as their own costumes.
Lets see how it all started...
Mardi Gras is French for "Fat Tuesday" but also known as Shrove Tuesday, Carnival and even Pancake Day in the UK. It's a pre-Lenten festival which usually start at the beginning of February, leading up to Mardi Gras.
This day traditionally marks the last opportunity for fun and feasting before 40 days of "self denial" starting on Ash Wednesday. Of course, the dates of Mardi Gras and Ash Wednesday changes from year to year, depending on the date of Easter.
The modern carnival tradition developed in Europe in the middle ages, and the most famous celebrations nowadays are held in Nice, France; Cologne, Germany; Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; and New Orleans, USA.
The official colours for Mardi Gras are purple - to represent justice, green - stands for faith, and gold - which symbolises power.
The Carnival season, which means Latin for "kiss your flesh goodbye", builds up slowly weeks before the actual day of Mardi Gras.
Technicality aside, many refer to Mardi Gras as the entire long party which has given it the reputation for being "the biggest free show on earth!"
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