February 25th, 2020
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Mardi Gras is a time of celebration marking the last feast before the Christian season of Lent until the arrival of Easter Sunday. Although Mardi Gras is supposed to be limited only to the Tuesday preceding Ash Wednesday, the phrase has come to be popularly applied to the preceding two weeks of celebration that occur in many areas of the world. Celebrations include feasting, parades, music, tossing of beads, and assorted party antics. Most Mardi Gras parades or parties are headed by a krewe, essentially a social group involved in Carnival events.
The origins of Mardi Gras can be traced to medieval Europe. Celebrations occurred in Rome and Venice in the 17th and 18th centuries, and eventually migrated to the French House of the Bourbons. When French settlers moved around the world, notably to areas like New Orleans, LA, they brought their traditions with them. Mardi Gras means "Fat Tuesday" in French, and also has been referred as "Boeuf Gras," or fatted calf. A time of excess, it is a markedly different from the more pious, prayer-infused and reverent time of Lent that follows leading up to the Easter miracle.
Much like Super Bowl celebrations that came earlier in the year, Mardi Gras presents many different opportunities for advertisers to tie into this time of excitement. Bakeries can showcase King Cakes in honor of Mardi Gras, food stores can advertise specials for New Orleans-inspired foods like shrimp po' boys, jambalaya or red beans and rice, while party stores can run specials on beads and faux coins for party-goers to toss.
