'Mardi Gras' is French for 'Fat Tuesday'

Mardi Gras blends pagan celebrations with Christian traditions

The holiday has its roots in pagan celebrations, like ancient Rome's Saturnalian and Lupercalian festivals, which celebrated spring and fertility. Rather than abandoning these traditions, Catholic leaders in Rome incorporated their spirit into a celebration that would expel citizens' debauchery in preparation for the sacrifices they'd endure during the Lenten season. Around the world, this holiday season is called Carnival, though the New Orleans version is usually called Mardi Gras.

A Mardi Gras alternative takes place in southwest Louisiana

Courir de Mardi Gras, or Cajun Mardi Gras, harkens back to a medieval "feast of begging," when rural French people donned costumes (often mocking the aristocracy) and went from door to door, performing in exchange for gifts.

What is Lent?

Lent is the 40-day period of fasting and penitence before Easter, modeled on Jesus's 40 days of fasting in the wilderness. Rooted in early Christian practice, it was formalized at the Council of Nicaea in 325 CE. Pope Gregory I established Ash Wednesday as its start in 601, creating the season's current structure of 46 days—40 fasting days plus six Sundays, which were traditionally treated as feast days.

A list of Carnival celebrations from around the world

Mardi Gras might be associated with New Orleans, but cities across the globe also celebrate Carnival with similar festivities. This list breaks down nine of the most popular, including masquerade balls in Venice, Creole celebrations in Cape Verde, and the Battle of the Flowers in France.

The first recorded American Mardi Gras was in Alabama

French explorers observed celebrations in what would become the United States in the late 1600s, but the first recognized modern American Mardi Gras took place in Mobile, Alabama, on New Year's Eve, running from 1830 into 1831. By 1840, the town had incorporated costumes, masks, and themes into its parade. After the Civil War, Mobile's Mardi Gras was moved to the more traditional date of Fat Tuesday. By 1850, a group from Mobile migrated to New Orleans, bringing the city's traditions with it.

Mardi Gras has inspired several songs

New Orleans is a historic music town—with deep-rooted jazz, R&B, and blues traditions, to name a few—so it's no surprise that its annual Carnival has led to more than a few Mardi Gras-themed songs through the decades. One of the most famous is Professor Longhair's 1959 track "Go to the Mardi Gras," an upbeat shuffle that's still played at parades today.

Mardi Gras revelers on floats are required to wear masks

Masks are worn to encourage revellers to embrace their wild side without letting their identity get in the way. That's something New Orleans takes seriously: If you're riding on a Mardi Gras float, city law requires that you wear a mask.

Why Christians eat fish on Fridays during Lent

The rule isn't actually to eat fish—it's to abstain from eating warm-blooded animals on Fridays, the day of the crucifixion. Fish filled the gap because it was cheap, plentiful, and theologically convenient. As it happens, the medieval Catholic calendar's proliferation of meatless days became one of the drivers of the global fishing industry.

King cake is a classic Mardi Gras dessert

One of the signature foods of Mardi Gras is the king cake, a green, gold, and purple-sprinkled desert. Baked inside is a hidden figurine, though some bakers use other objects. Whoever gets the piece with the object is blessed with good luck, though they're also expected to bring a cake to the next gathering.

Traditionally, a glut of unused eggs during Lent would be decorated at Easter

That's how the tradition started, at least in the more orthodox (or strict) branches of Christianity, which didn't eat meat, dairy, or eggs the whole period. By the end, there was more than could be eaten, so decorations ensued.

The Lunar New Year lasts 15 days, with specific rituals for specific days

On the first night, loved ones gather to celebrate their honor and say goodbye to the successes and tribulations of the old year. On the fourth day, the God of the Kitchen is honored to prevent kitchen accidents. And beginning on day 12, people prepare for the final Festival of Lanterns.

What is Good Friday, and why is it called 'good'?

Good Friday commemorates the crucifixion of Jesus, the darkest moment in the Christian story (which makes the name a genuine puzzle). Typical explanations say "good" once meant "holy" or "sacred," while other traditions dub it "sorrowful Friday." Christians observe rather than celebrate the day, with services, fasting, and quiet. It's always two days before Easter, sitting between Maundy (or Holy) Thursday and Easter.

The surprisingly poetic origins of the phrase 'March Madness'

When legendary sportscaster Brent Musberger called the 1982 NCAA basketball tournament "March Madness," the term stuck and helped popularize the annual event. But he wasn't the first to use the phrase. This Time magazine article explores the contributions of Henry V. Porter, who originally used "March madness" in a 1939 article about the Illinois State basketball tournament, and later in a 1942 poem called "Basketball Ides of March."

Anorexia as religion: from the Middle Ages to modern message boards

Humanity's interest in anorexia nervosa can be traced back to the Middle Ages and the rise of "fasting girls." This article explores the history of the eating disorder as a religion. The first recorded anorexics appeared during the 13th century...

The term ‘mortgage’ was born out of the French word for ‘dead pledge’

Borrowing money to buy a house has been a global practice since the Romans in the fifth century BCE. But before the mortgage, there was the “dead pledge,” which labeled the property as “dead” to the borrower until they paid off their loan to the lender.

The stages of fasting

What happens to the body when it goes without caloric intake? This article overviews the immediate physical effects of fasting. Within a day of going without food, the body will have used up its glucose stores and ordered the liver and muscles to convert their glycogen (glucose storage) into usable glucose. By the second day, glycogen stores will run out, forcing the body to use fat as energy. This process is known as ketosis.

The word 'restaurant' comes from the Latin for 'restore'

Many believe the word came into use thanks to Boulanger, an 18th-century Parisian soup vendor. According to legend, his shop claimed it served "bouillons restaurants," or "restorative broths."

Mars was named after the Roman god of war for its reddish hue, resembling blood

A single day on Mars lasts 24.6 hours, while a year lasts 687 Earth days. The rusting of iron in rocks on the Martian surface contributes to brown, gold, and tan colorations.

The showgirl archetype arose in 19th-century France

The word first appeared in the mid-1700s to describe women behaving in a "showy" manner, but it wasn't until the late 1800s that the current definition for a performer became standardized, thanks to Parisian variety shows that often featured the high-kicking women.

Fat is proposed as a candidate sixth basic taste

Oleogustus is Latin for "a taste for fat," and researchers proposed in 2015 that it should be accepted as the sixth basic taste. This article teases apart exactly what it would take to officially be considered the sixth taste and why researchers think the fat taste may be a strong candidate.

Burning Man's DMV refers to the Department of Mutant Vehicles

There's a specific Burning Man lingo that can be hard to follow if you haven't attended before. MOOP essentially refers to litter, the playa is another word for Black Rock City, and a playa chicken is a mythical deadly chicken.

France has a strict and explicit separation of church and state

France's principle of laïcité—strict separation of church and state—prohibits religious expression in public institutions, including the wearing of religious clothing and symbols in public schools and by government employees.

Valentine's Day is considered the end of 'proposal season'

Wedding website The Knot's internal study found that Christmas is the most popular day to propose. It also kicks off "proposal season," a monthslong season from Christmas to Valentine's Day that's a popular time for lovers to pop the question.

George Washington's birthday was a federal holiday until it was moved to the third Monday in February in 1968

Washington's February 22 birthday became a federal holiday in 1879. A 1968 law moved it to the third Monday in February, and decades of advertising popularized the unofficial name "Presidents' Day," which the federal government never formally adopted.

Visa data shows Muslim spending spikes at night during Ramadan

Fasting during the day reschedules economic activity to the night. Visa's spending data shows a surge in Muslim-majority markets during Ramadan at night as restaurants and retailers orient themselves around iftar. The pattern has become a significant target for advertisers and brands.

Cultural norms about how to handle the bodies of loved ones in communities in West Africa have hampered Ebola responses.

Take a 3D tour of the Hajj, Islam's annual pilgrimage to Mecca, undertaken by over 1.5 million Muslims.

When caught in the mouths of cardinal fish, seed shrimp release glowing, bioluminescent chemicals, which alert predators of the cardinal fish, prompting the shrimp's ejection.

For centuries, it was common to sleep in two shifts: a few hours at the beginning of the night, and a longer period beginning around midnight

The word 'jazz' evolved from 'jasm,' 19th-century American slang for 'energy'

Louisiana's 'Cancer Alley' is infamous for having some of the highest industrial pollution, toxic air emissions, and cancer risks in the US.

At the beginning of the 20th century, a group of young men ate standard American food—replete with food additives like borax and formaldehyde—as part of government research to better understand food safety.

The Dracula character, now seen as the vampire archetype, was inspired by a seafood-induced nightmare its creator experienced.

Hotels in Cannes, the glamorous city on the French Riviera, hire hawks to ward off seagulls during the city's famous film festival.

Volcanic activity may have triggered the Black Death by spewing gases that led to crop failures in Europe, thus forcing the import of grain ships with plague-infested fleas.

A 2019 Facebook event called on attendees to "Storm Area 51, They Can't Stop All of Us," resulting in countless memes, the creation of a music festival, and eventually the arrests of those who did try to approach the area.

The concept of phantom limbs, the perception that amputated limbs are still present, dates back to a French military surgeon in the 16th century.

Graffiti dates back to at least ancient Pompeii, where citizens scrawled messages to one another on public walls

El Niño, Spanish for 'the boy,' was named after Jesus Christ because the phenomenon resembled the weather changes observed around Christmastime.

Lesser-known phobias include turophobia, or the fear of cheese, and nomophobia, the fear of being without your cell phone.

After the Boston Tea Party, colonists switched to coffee, which became the main morning drink for revolutionaries.

Existentialist writer Jean-Paul Sartre coined the famous phrase 'Hell is—other people' in his play 'No Exit'

The distributor behind 'Rocky Horror' pulled the film from its scheduled national release, believing it would be a failure, though it eventually amassed a dedicated fanbase through midnight showings, a trend that continues over 50 years later.

Exploring the Larry Bird punch that almost changed March Madness

In preparation for this weekend's Eurovision finale, which is something like the World Cup of pop music, here's a young Céline Dion performing (for Switzerland?) at the 1988 competition.

See the most iconic photos from four decades of LIFE magazine

Before humans, the Soviet Union and the United States sent animals—including apes, dogs, and cats—to space during the Space Race.

Memecoins are a type of cryptocurrency—a form of digital currency with a wide variety of uses—created around popular 'memes,' or viral internet jokes.

Bone marrow (soft tissue found inside certain bones) generates roughly 500 billion new blood cells each day

Up to a million Girl Scouts sell about 200 million cookie boxes every spring, generating $800 million, largely because refusing a child is frowned upon