Mardi Gras

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This article is about the carnival. For other uses, see Mardi Gras (disambiguation).

Mardi Gras, Carnival
Celebrations in New Orleans, USA
Also called	Shrove Tuesday, Fat Tuesday
Type	cultural
Significance	Celebration prior to fasting season of Lent.
Celebrations	Parades, parties
Date	day before Ash Wednesday, 47 days before Easter
2013 date	February 12
2014 date	March 4
2015 date	February 17
2016 date	February 9
Frequency	annual
Related to	Shrove Tuesday; Carnival, Shrove Monday, Ash Wednesday, Lent, Maslenitsa, Valentine's Day

"Mardi Gras" /ˈmɑrdiɡrɑː/, "Mardi Gras season", "'Fat Tuesday'" and "Carnival season",^[1]^[2]^[3]^[4]^[5] in English, refer to events of the Carnival celebrations, beginning on or after the Epiphany or Kings day and culminating on the day before Ash Wednesday. Mardi Gras is French for Fat Tuesday, referring to the practice of the last night of eating richer, fatty foods before the ritual fasting of the Lenten season, which begins on Ash Wednesday. The day is sometimes referred to as Shrove Tuesday, from the word shrive, meaning "confess."^[6] Related popular practices are associated with celebrations before the fasting and religious obligations associated with the penitential season of Lent.