It’ll be a hot time in the Big Easy tonight as people there celebrate Mardi Gras, or Fat Tuesday. The holiday is steeped in Catholic and pagan tradition, and marks the last day people have to eat, drink and be merry before Ash Wednesday, the start of Lent. Today the French Quarter in New Orleans is the center point of the celebration and largely sticks to the 18th century tradition of masked balls, mock royalty and elaborate costumes. The first parade through the streets of the Big Easy was recorded in 1837.
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