Every year, more than 4 million people come from around the world to be part of what is often billed as the "greatest free party on Earth" -- Mardi Gras! 
Mardi Gras, also called Carnival in some countries, is celebrated around the world. Beginning in January, the city of New Orleans starts a variety of festivities that culminate with Mardi Gras Day, or Fat Tuesday -- the day before Ash Wednesday and Lent. 

For about two weeks before Fat Tuesday, residents and visitors alike enjoy dozens of parades with wildly imaginative floats bearing outrageously costumed party-goers tossing colored beads into the screaming crowds.  The parties continue into the night as revelers seek out distinctive "Nawlins" jazz and blues as well as Cajun and Creole food. The history of Mardi Gras began long before Europeans set foot in the New World. In mid February the ancient Romans celebrated the Lupercalia, a circus like festival not entirely unlike the Mardi Gras we are familiar with today. When Rome embraced Christianity, the early Church fathers decided it was better to incorporate certain aspects of pagan rituals into the new faith rather than attempt to abolish them altogether. Carnival became a period of abandon and merriment that preceded the penance of Lent, thus giving a Christian interpretation to the ancient custom.

Mardi Gras came to America in 1699 with the French explorer Iberville. Mardi Gras had been celebrated in Paris since the Middle Ages, where it was a major holiday. Iberville sailed into the Gulf of Mexico, from where he launched an expedition up the Mississippi River. On March 3 of 1699, Iberville had set up a camp on the west bank of the river about 60 miles south of where New Orleans is today. This was the day Mardi Gras was being celebrated in France. In honor of this important day, Iberville named the site Point du Mardi Gras.