page_title: Mardi Gras in the United States
section_title: Other Louisiana cities
hierarchical_section_title: Mardi Gras in the United States / Louisiana / Other Louisiana cities
caption_attribution_description: English: Chalmette, Louisiana. Knights of Nemesis parade, 2006.
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: Other Louisiana cities holding Mardi Gras parades include Bogalusa, Bush, Chalmette, Columbia, Covington, Gretna, Kaplan, La Place, Madisonville, Mandeville, Metairie, Minden, Monroe, Natchitoches, Pearl River, Slidell, Springhill, and Thibodaux.
  Because of violent activities of the American terrorist group, the Ku Klux Klan, Louisiana has a state law prohibiting the wearing of hoods and masks in public.  Mardi Gras is one of the occasions when exceptions are allowed, as are Halloween celebrations and religious observance.
caption: The "Knights of Nemesis" parade rolled through Chalmette in 2006 despite the devastation of Hurricane Katrina.
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