Mardi Gras dates back to thousands of years ago in ancient Rome. Lupercalia was a pagan celebration of agriculture and fertility. Paganism is a nature worshipping religion. Usually it indentifies god with the universe or has multiple gods. People who believe in multiple gods are polytheistic. When Cristianity appeared in Rome religious officials combined holidays, like Lupercalia, with Christianity. France, Germany, Spain, and England are countries where
Mardi Gras spread.
Historians believe Mardi Gras was introduced by french explorers Iberville and Bienville, on March 3, 1699. They landed in Liousiana, South of New Orleans. Streets parties, masked balls, and fancy dinners followed after several decades. In 1763 the Spanish took over Liousiana, and they put a stop to these celebrations. It wasn’t until Liousiana became part of the United States of America, in 1812, that the ban was removed.
There are many traditions that are celebrated during Mardi Gras. Every year there is a Mardi Gras parade. The streets fill with colorful floats and people. People on the floats throw plastic beaded necklaces and small trinkets. The traditional mardi Gras colors are purple, green, and gold. Each color has a meaning: purple stands for justice, green stands for faith, and gold stands for power.
Many cultures have settled in Liousiana. This has made the culture and the food very diverse. One of the most popular Mardi Gras dishes is king cake. A king cake is an oval shaped cake that is frosted and topped in green, purple, and gold sugar. A small plastic baby is baked into the cake which represents baby Jesus. The person with the winning slice is granted a whole year of good luck. The person with the baby is then responsible for bring the next cake.