65 Fun Facts and Trivia About Mardi Gras and How It's Celebrated

Mardi Gras is the culmination of carnival celebrations before Ash Wednesday and the start of Lent. The term Mardi Gras only refers to the final day, also known as Fat Tuesday.

The first Mardi Gras parade in New Orleans was held in 1837.

Different parades are held in neighborhoods throughout the city. They're organized by groups called krewes that are usually named for figures of Greek or Roman mythology. Each krewe chooses a new parade theme every year.

The Mistick Krewe of Comus is credited with making New Orleans the most popular Mardi Gras destination in the United States when they introduced floats to the parade in 1857. Comus is the Greek God of Revelry.

The French word refers to blazing torches that are used to light the way during nighttime carnival events. They originated in the 19th century out of practicality, because there weren’t modern street lights.

You’re likely to see modern day flambeaux carriers dance with their torches as people in the crowd toss them coins.

The king is crowned by the mayor of New Orleans and they are also honored with a key to the city.

The Krewe of Venus organized New Orleans’ very first all-women parade in 1941.

The beads used to be made of glass but are now primarily made of plastic.

The city estimates around 25 million pounds of beads get thrown into the streets each year.

After clogged storm drains that caused excess flooding, the city cleared the drains of 46 tons of beads!

To prevent this from happening again, the city installed "gutter buddies" on drains to keep them bead-free.

Mardi Gras beads and coins are sometimes referred to as "doubloons."

Although beads are the most common, many of the krewes offer up various trinkets to the crowd as they make their way down the street.

One of the most coveted trinkets to catch is a golden coconut thrown during the Zulu parade.

Zulu Social Aid and Pleasure Club (Krewe of Zulu) is the oldest African-American krewe. They have been parading since 1909.

The coconut was first given as a trinket in 1910. At the time, it was a simple natural fruit without the gold. Zulu historian Emeritus Clarence Becknell said, "The coconut came because they couldn't afford to buy the beads.”

In 1987 lawsuits were filed against the Zulu krewe, claiming that people were injured by coconuts thrown from their floats. That year, the club could not get insured.

The New Orleans state legislature passed the "Coconut Bill," which absolved the Zulu krewe from liability of alleged injuries associated with the throwing of coconuts during parades.

It is required by law for people on floats to be wearing masks.