page_title: Mardi Gras in the United States
hierarchical_section_title: Mardi Gras in the United States
caption_attribution_description: "Mardi Gras Parade, 2006, New Orleans, Louisiana" Shows float in the Rex parade on St. Charles Avenue in front of Gallier Hall.
context_page_description: Mardi Gras in the United States is not observed nationally across the country, largely due to the country’s Protestant and Anglo roots. Mardi Gras and Carnival are mostly Catholic holidays, while the United States has a Protestant majority population. However, a number of cities and regions in the U.S. have notable Mardi Gras or Carnival celebrations. Most of these places trace their Mardi Gras celebrations to French, Spanish, and other Catholic colonial influences on the settlements over their history. The earliest Carnival celebration in North America occurred at a place on the west bank of the Mississippi river about 60 miles downriver from where New Orleans is today; this Mardi Gras on the 3rd of March 1699 and in honor of this holiday, Pierre Le Moyne, Sieur d'Iberville, a 38-year-old French Canadian, named the spot Point du Mardi Gras near Fort Jackson. The earliest organized Carnival celebrations occurred in Mobile, Biloxi, New Orleans, and Pensacola, which have each developed separate traditions. In addition, modern activities generally vary from city to city across the U.S.
context_section_description: Mardi Gras in the United States is not observed nationally across the country, largely due to the country’s Protestant and Anglo roots. Mardi Gras and Carnival are mostly Catholic holidays, while the United States has a Protestant majority population (the season is known as Fastelavn in the Evangelical Lutheran tradition and Shrovetide in the Anglican & Methodist denominations). However, a number of cities and regions in the U.S. have notable Mardi Gras or Carnival celebrations. Most of these places trace their Mardi Gras celebrations to French, Spanish, and other Catholic colonial influences on the settlements over their history. The earliest Carnival celebration in North America occurred at a place on the west bank of the Mississippi river about 60 miles (96.6 kilometers) downriver from where New Orleans is today; this Mardi Gras on the 3rd of March 1699 and in honor of this holiday, Pierre Le Moyne, Sieur d'Iberville, a 38-year-old French Canadian, named the spot Point du Mardi Gras (French: "Mardi Gras Point") near Fort Jackson. The earliest organized Carnival celebrations occurred in Mobile, Biloxi, New Orleans, and Pensacola, which have each developed separate traditions.  In addition, modern activities generally vary from city to city across the U.S.
caption: The Mardi Gras celebrations in New Orleans are probably the most famous in the United States, but far from the only.
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