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Mardi Gras Trivia- Laissez les bons temps rouler

By Paula Green



  Happy Mardi Gras! This year's festivities begin on Tuesday, March 4, in New Orleans, Louisiana. "Mardi Gras" is French for "Fat Tuesday," which is the day before Ash Wednesday. As the final day before the fasting season of Lent, it serves as the last opportunity to feast and celebrate. Mardi Gras is celebrated in many countries around the world.


Mardi Gras is also known as Shrove Tuesday. This name originates from the practice of "shriving,” confessing one’s sins before the start of Lent. For Christians, Shrove Tuesday serves as an opportunity to receive penance and absolution. "Fat Tuesday" refers to the tradition of using up the milk, eggs, butter, and other fatty foods in the home before Lent begins. 


There is more to Mardi Gras than eating beignets and partying in the streets. It has deep-rooted traditions and histories that date back hundreds of years to pagan spring and fertility rites. While New Orleans, Louisiana, is famously known for its Mardi Gras festivities, Mobile, Alabama—founded in 1703 by French settlers—claims to be the first city to observe the event. Mardi Gras was celebrated in New Orleans soon after the city's founding in 1718, and the first recorded street parade in New Orleans took place in 1837.


  "Carnival" is a season of celebration that begins on January 6, the Feast of the Epiphany, and culminates on Mardi Gras. The dates of Carnival vary each year because they are linked to Easter; however, Mardi Gras always occurs exactly 47 days before Easter. A krewe is a private social group that organizes parades, balls, and other festivities during the Carnival season.


Masks and beads are prevalent throughout the festivities. New Orleans estimates that around 25 million pounds of beads are thrown into the streets yearly. People wear masks so that they can mingle and "be whoever they want" during the celebration. Float riders are required by law to wear masks.


                The popular Mardi Gras dessert is the king cake, a coffee cake with filling. One popular tradition is hiding a small plastic baby (representing the baby Jesus) inside the cake. Whoever finds the baby has to buy the next king cake or hold a king cake party the following year.


                Since we've unmasked the excitement of Mardi Gras, we must now test our knowledge of Fat Tuesday in this festive query. Get set to don those thinking caps because it's time to get a little trivial.


  1. The Feast of the Epiphany, which marks the beginning of the Carnival season, is called what?


  2. New Orleans and Mardi Gras are often associated with this type of music.


  3. In Mobile, Alabama, Mardi Gras events begin this month.


  4. What breakfast food is associated with Shove Tuesday?


  5. Which Midwest city in the United States hosts the second largest Mardi Gras celebration, following New Orleans?


  6. A common Mardi Gras phrase is “Laissez les bons temps rouler.” What does that mean?


  7. What famous father and son were each crowned King Bacchus at New Orleans, Mardi Gras?


  8. What phrase do revelers shout to catch throws from Mardi Gras parade floats?


  9. During the 1940s, this global event canceled Mardi Gras for four years.


  10. Mardi Gras colors are purple, green, and gold. Purple symbolizes justice, green for faith, and gold represents this.


  11. What song is the anthem of Mardi Gras in New Orleans?


  12. What are unique coins thrown during Mardi Gras parades called?


  13. The Monday before this celebration is sometimes called Fat Monday, also known as?


  14. During the Mardi Gras parade in 1880, a man dressed as this person started throwing beads into the crowd, and the tradition has continued ever since.


  15. According to the law, what time must masks be removed on the night of Mardi Gras?



Answers: 1. Twelfth Night 2. jazz 3. November 4. pancakes 5. St. Louis, Missouri 6. Let the good times roll 7. Alan Thicke (1988) and Robin Thicke (2020) 8. "Throw me something, mister!"  9. Word War II 10. power 11. If I Cease to Love 12. doubloons 13. Lundi Gras 14. Santa Claus 15. 6:00 p.m.


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