Making New Traditions, Celebrating Mardi Gras During a Pandemic
One of the magical things about being born and raised in Louisiana is being able to celebrate Mardi Gras. Depending on what part of the state you are from, the celebration may start earlier while others start closer to the actual holiday. The Mardi Gras hub is, of course, New Orleans, and festivities begin after the first of the year, around January 6th. Carnival season comes to an official end on Fat Tuesday, better known as Mardi Gras Day, which falls right before Ash Wednesday each year.
New Orleans’ Mardi Gras parades typically draw crowds in the millions from all over the world every year. Many were disappointed, of course, being that it’s such a large part of our culture. But knowing that New Orleans was one of the country’s earliest hot spots for the virus last Spring, it made sense. Many health experts have traced the massive outbreak from the Mardi Gras celebrations held in February of 2020.