Welcome to Point du Mardi Gras

Bonjour Fat Tuesday! Whether you plan to celebrate Mardi Gras or are still recovering from the spirited President's Day festivities, here are a few fun facts.

• Mardi Gras has been celebrated in France since the Middle Ages and came to America in 1699. French explorer Pierre Le Moyne Iberville and his crew set up camp in a location 60 miles south of where we know New Orleans to be today. It was March 3, and to honor the major holiday being held in Paris, they christened the site Point du Mardi Gras.
• France was not the first to celebrate Mardi Gras. Historians have seen a similarity to ancient tribal rituals of fertility, which celebrated the arrival of spring. "A possible ancestor of the celebration was the Lupercalia, a circus-like orgy held in mid-February in Rome." From this the church created a milder celebration of merriment—Carnival.
• The French also introduced king cakes to New Orleans. King cakes are round, custard-filled pastries, decorated with crowns. Baked inside the cake is a tiny baby Jesus figure. In medieval times, a bean was baked inside. The court would gather around the cake while every young debutante was served a piece. The maid who found the bean, or baby Jesus, was crowned queen.
• The first documented Mardi Gras parade took place in 1837. Prior to the parade, people in masks roamed the streets by foot, in carriages and on horseback.

The History of Mardi Gras provided by the visitors to New Orleans city website.