Let's have story time for a minute. New Orleans used to be a French settlement. In 1699, settlers threw their first party where they landed in Point du Mardi Gras, near where New Orleans is currently. Street parties, dinners, and balls were then held annually there. But when the Spanish came in and took over the city, they put the kibosh on those celebrations. Fast forward to 1812. Louisiana becomes a state and the United States is all, "Do you. Have your party." So they do. Fifteen years later, in 1827, some students visited Paris and were all, "Yo, Paris' Mardi Gras is way cooler." So they decided to emulate that and danced in the streets with colorful costumes. Ten years later, now we're in at 1837, people upped the ante and instead of just dancing in the streets, there was a parade. Twenty years later, a group of businessmen said, "Hold my beer." These guys started a secret society called the Mistick Krewe of Comus and threw an entire parade -- with marching bands and rolling floats -- by torch light. So cool. So now, Mardi Gras parade and event organizers are known as a krewe. One of these krewes, the mononymous Rex, which has been participating in the festivities since 1872, introduced the colors of gold, green, and purple. See. I was getting there. It's said that the Krewe of Rex established these colors in 1892 at the "Symbolism of Colors" parade. Gold signifies power, green is faith, and purple is justice. Over 125 years later, these colors and Rex are still a part of Mardi Gras in New Orleans.