Happy Mardi Gras, ya'll! We love this 'Only in Louisiana' celebration! (Even if there are festivities celebrated around the country.) There are so many misconceptions about Mardi Gras, and they all come from people who don't actually live here.

Louisiana Travel is bringing us the Top 10 Things You Need to Know About Mardi Gras, and it's a pretty comprehensive list of the awesomeness of Carnival Season. Pass this along to all the unfortunate folks who aren't here in the Bayou State leading up to Fat Tuesday. #ThrowMeSomethingMister!

 

  • Mardi Gras is one day, the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday. Carnival season begins on the Feast of Epiphany
  •  We even have Mardi Gras Parades for our dogs. Yep , pretty awesome
  •  Mardi Gras is a Family Celebration. There are plenty of family friendly events around the state
  •  Go to the end of the parade route for the best throws. Riders will be chucking all the last of their beads and doubloons, just to get rid of them before the end
  •  Throws are not just beads and doubloons. There are very cool throws in just about every parade. What's not to love about the coveted coconuts thrown in the New Orleans Zulu parade?
  •  The best parades are not always the biggest .Some of the smaller parades in the smaller cities are pretty awesome, and very charming. The riders also tend to throw more, just sayin'.
  •  Why do we throw beads from the floats? Rumor has it that this tradition began in the 1880's when a man dressed as Santa became so wildly popular throwing out strand of beads, that all the other Krewes followed suit. This awesome part of Mardi Gras continues to this day.
  •  How many beads and trinkets are actually thrown from Floats during Carnival Season? An estimated 25 million pounds of Mardi Gras items are tossed from floats each year. Wowser!
  •  Mardi Gras is a legal holiday. Yep.
  •  Mardi Gras is not just in New Orleans, each community, town, and city in Louisiana has their own way to celebrate. Their is a huge difference between the traditional 'Courir de Mardi Gras' or 'Chicken Run' in the country, and the beads, glitz, and glamour of city celebrations.

 

 

 

 

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