Mardi Gras

Breast-flashing for beads at Mardi Gras isn't just in New Orleans anymore!

"Mardi Gras", or "Fat Tuesday", is the last day of the Carnival leading up to the season of Lent. It's an age-old tradition that dates back to the ancient Romans, somewhere in the second century! Originally this time would be spent feasting for several days and party-goers would wear masks, cloth themselves in the likeness of spectres and apparently all aspects of pleasure were considered to be just fine. This Carnaval was the pagan festival of festivals and we can still see some of its origins in the festivals being held today around the world.

The Celebration that comes with Mardi Gras is something that needs to be experienced to be truly appreciated. Places like New Orleans, Rio di Janeiro, and Venice are all well-known for opening up their cities to hundreds of thousands of tourists who make the journey to check out the floats, the parades, the parties, and, most of all - to get their hands on some of those notorious beads!



While Mardi Gras isn't based on parading around half naked for shiny beaded necklaces, one would be hard pressed to find a Mardi Gras event that didn't include this in abundance. Women congregate under balconies to show off their assets while the people above and all around them snap photos and reward them with beads for their generosity. It's a crazy party that has something for everyone and fortunately they seem to pop up in just about every area of the world - there's even a celebration in Slovenia!