Party-goers woke up early this morning to begin Fat Tuesday celebrations in New Orleans. Hundreds of floats hit the French Quarter streets as the Bacchanalian blowout continued just hours after the end of Monday night’s Mardi Gras parade on Bourbon Street.
Mardi Gras Day, or Fat Tuesday, is a celebration the day before Lent (Ash Wednesday). Mardi Gras became a legal holiday in Louisiana in the late 1800’s, but New Orleans has been celebrating like this since the 1700’s.
It’s a common misperception that Mardi Gras is the start of a heavy couple of weeks of parading and partying. That’s backward. Mardi Gras is the END of the partying. Fat Tuesday is the final day of Carnival, which began on the Feast of the Epiphany on January 6.
In a parade on Sunday, Val Kilmer (Top Secret, Real Genius) was crowned Bacchus XLI, the King of the Krewe of Bacchus (chubby photo below courtesy of DMX/Mayer Photo).
Did the celebration blindside you again? Next year, Fat Tuesday is a bit earlier on February 16, 2010, so mark your Google calendars now.
Laissez les bons temps rouler! (whatever that means).
Pic from TMZ.
More Info at NOLA.com
[…] their parades. This year’s King is Andy Garcia, who has been preceded by such great Kings as Val Kilmer, Larry King (who is an actual King), William Shatner (who is technically a Captain) and one of our […]
Just a fun fact follow-up…
This year’s Mardi Gras has been called “one of the bloodiest ever.”
WDSU, the New Orleans NBC affiliate, reported that this year’s celebration was one of the most dangerous in history… Fat Tuesday drew to a close with 13 shootings, including one homicide!
Let the good times roll!