Mardi Gras marks the final day of the Carnival period. Carnival begins on the Twelth Night after Christmas, January 6th every year. Carnival lasts for about one month and ends exactly 47 days before Easter.
The Carnival and Mardi Gras festivals and celebrations are very popular in Europe, Latin America, and the Caribbean. The most popular spots today where many tourists rush to during this time are New Orleans, Louisiana; Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; and Venice, Italy.
Mardi Gras marks the final party before the period of Lent begins, and so revelry, rich foods, excessive eating & drinking, as well as colourful masks, cosumes, accessories and beads are popular. Streets are often closed down and the party goes all night long.
The World’s Top 3 Mardi Gras Destinations
New Orleans, Louisiana
Every year, the Mardi Gras celebrations in New Orleans draws hundreds of thousands of tourists who want to take part in the parades and unending parties – and pick up a set of authentic Mardi Gras beads! The celebrations have been taking place in New Orleans since the early or mid 1700’s and have only become larger and more colourful.
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Rio de Janeiro’s festivals are most known for their elaborate costumes and dancing in the streets! Many Samba schools participate in showing off their best Mardi Gras spirits at the exhibition centre and throughout the hundreds of parades taking place in the city streets.
Some of the most well known and popular parades are: Cordao do Bola Preta that takes place in the middle of the city; Suvaco do Cristo that goes through the Botanic garden; and finally there’s the Banda de Ipanema which takes place in Sinatra’s favourite Ipanema and attracts a wide range of families, as well as a large gay population, and many drag queens.
Venice, Italy
The party in Venice is popular for its classic Venetian and Italian style. It is also the oldest Carnival festival in the world since 1268, with traditional Carnival masks that can be found only in costume stores in North America.
In fact, mask makers (mascheran) would hold a special place in society because of what their trade. Masks slowly became outlawed throughout the centures and in the late 1800’s when Austrians took control of Venice, Carnival celebrations were no longer allowed. It wasn’t until the 1980’s that Carnival was revived in Venice – and the beautiful antique masks were brought back.
So wherever you find yourself for the next Mardi Gras, be sure to check out TripOutlet.com for the best travel deals – because everybody loves travel deals!
