Carnival
Carnival is the accurate, though old, name for the Mardi Gras season. Contrary to popular use, the last day of the Mardi Gras season isn’t Mardi Gras Day, it’s Mardi Gras (which literally translates to Fat Tuesday). And the holiday season which starts with the Krewe of Twelfth Night on January 6 and ends on Mardi Gras some time in February or March, is called Carnival. Also known as “the greatest free show on earth”, Carnival lasts several weeks. For a few weekends before Mardi Gras, parades happen all over the greater New Orleans area, and then the last 2 weeks, there are night parades on the weeknights as well as the weekend. The excitement grows til Mardi Gras, when the King of Carnival, Rex, parades. And with the truck floats (which are exactly what they are called) following, parading goes on all day. When I grew up, Mardi Gras was a day off from school for us and from work for my dad. The whole city, including the U.S. Post Office, is closed for Mardi Gras.