TODAY, February 17, 2026 is MARDI GRAS, or Fat Tuesday! But what is the MEANING behind the ‘season’!?

Mardi Gras (UK: /ˌmɑːrdi ˈɡrɑː/, US: /ˈmɑːrdi ˌɡrɑː/) (also known as Shrove Tuesday) is the final day of Carnival or Shrovetide before Ash Wednesday. Mardi Gras is French for “Fat Tuesday“, reflecting the practice of the last night of consuming rich, fatty foods in preparation for the fasting season of Lent.

Related popular practices are associated with Carnival celebrations before the fasting and religious obligations associated with the penitential season of Lent. In countries such as the United Kingdom, Mardi Gras is more usually known as Pancake Day or (traditionally) Shrove Tuesday, derived from the word shrive, meaning “to administer the sacrament of confession to; to absolve”.

The festival season varies from city to city, as some traditions, such as the one in New Orleans, Louisiana, consider Mardi Gras to stretch the entire period from Twelfth Night (the last night of Christmas which begins Epiphany) to Ash Wednesday.  Others treat the final three-day period before Ash Wednesday as the Mardi Gras.

In Mobile, Alabama, Mardi Gras–associated social events begin in November, followed by mystic society balls  New Year’s Eve, followed by parades and balls in January and February, celebrating up to midnight before Ash Wednesday. In earlier times, parades were held on New Year’s Day. Carnival is an important celebration in Anglican and Catholic European nations.