When most people think of Mardi Gras they tend to focus on images of revelry and the iconic Mardi Gras beads tossed left and right, but all too few people outside of the Big Easy are familiar with the history behind the best known party in the US. Celebrated in the week leading up to Lent, this raucous holiday actually has roots that are far older than Christianity itself.
Many historians believe that Mardi Gras evolved from the ancient Roman festival Lupercalia, which was later adopted and adapted into Christianity after the Roman conversion as a way to reach out to pagans. As a result the festival turned into a cleansing rite of sorts right before the beginning of Lent and ending on Fat Tuesday. Not surprisingly many Roman outposts in Europe were happy to adopt the holiday, and by the Medieval period most European nations had their own versions. The French version was particularly impressive and bacchanalian in nature, especially compared to the tame versions in England and elsewhere.
Most historians believe that Mardi Gras then traveled to the Americas with the French explorer Sieur d’Iberville, who landed in Louisiana and explored the Mississippi (although some historians dispute this tale). By the early 1800s Mardi Gras, and the iconic Mardi Gras beads, were firmly ensconced in the culture of Louisiana and its French settlers, leaving us to enjoy the party as one of the most familiar sights in the Big Easy today.