Mardi Gras 2011 falls on Tuesday, March 8. Mardi Gras, "Fat Tuesday", is the last day of the Carnival season as it always falls the day before Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent. Most visitors will plan to arrive no later than Saturday, March 5, 2011 in order to enjoy an extended weekend of festivities.
To keep to a healthy diet, plan ahead and bring your own snacks. Think nutrition bars, sandwiches, soy crisps, individually wrapped snack-size cheese, whole-grain crackers like Triscuit Thin Crisps, or low-fat whole grain chips like Garden of Eatin's baked blue chips.
But if the vendors know you by name and your Mardi Gras experience just isn't complete without a sausage dog and a corn dog, here's what you're getting into.
To put the numbers into perspective, we've also included how long it takes to walk off the calories from the street vendor fare. The take-home message: Weigh your options, decide whether something's really worth it to you, and hopefully you won't have to spend the next six weeks trying to lose what was gained during Mardi Gras.
How did Mardi Gras start?
Traced back to its Pagan roots, Mardi Gras most likely sprang out of the pre-Christian celebration known as Lupercalia. As Christianity rose in ancient Rome, the early holiday was incorporated into the fledgling religion as a way to gain converts.
How does one celebrate Mardi Gras?
The holiday is something of a binge-and-purge ritual. In anticipation of fasting that accompanies Lent, Mardi Gras adherents go all out on Fat Tuesday, eating, drinking and generally having as good a time as is humanly possible before giving up such pleasures.
Who celebrates Mardi Gras?
Catholics in countries across Europe, the Caribbean, South and Central America as well as in select North American cities revel in the Mardi Gras festivities, with each culture shaping the celebration in a unique way.
To keep to a healthy diet, plan ahead and bring your own snacks. Think nutrition bars, sandwiches, soy crisps, individually wrapped snack-size cheese, whole-grain crackers like Triscuit Thin Crisps, or low-fat whole grain chips like Garden of Eatin's baked blue chips.
But if the vendors know you by name and your Mardi Gras experience just isn't complete without a sausage dog and a corn dog, here's what you're getting into.
To put the numbers into perspective, we've also included how long it takes to walk off the calories from the street vendor fare. The take-home message: Weigh your options, decide whether something's really worth it to you, and hopefully you won't have to spend the next six weeks trying to lose what was gained during Mardi Gras.
How did Mardi Gras start?
Traced back to its Pagan roots, Mardi Gras most likely sprang out of the pre-Christian celebration known as Lupercalia. As Christianity rose in ancient Rome, the early holiday was incorporated into the fledgling religion as a way to gain converts.
How does one celebrate Mardi Gras?
The holiday is something of a binge-and-purge ritual. In anticipation of fasting that accompanies Lent, Mardi Gras adherents go all out on Fat Tuesday, eating, drinking and generally having as good a time as is humanly possible before giving up such pleasures.
Who celebrates Mardi Gras?
Catholics in countries across Europe, the Caribbean, South and Central America as well as in select North American cities revel in the Mardi Gras festivities, with each culture shaping the celebration in a unique way.
