The American Mardi Gras

On March 3, 1699, French explorers landed near present-day New Orleans, Louisiana. They held a small celebration and named their landing spot Point du Mardi Gras.

In the following decades, New Orleans and other French settlements began marking the holiday with street parties, masked balls and lavish dinners. The rowdy rituals were banned when the Spanish took control of New Orleans but continued again after Louisiana became a U.S. state in 1812. To this day, Mardi Gras is a legal holiday in Louisiana.