Mardi Gras on The Gulf Coast!
Hello Shopaholics! Hope your Sunday is wonderful! Yesterday we attended our first Mardi Gras parade of the Carnival season! It was a small parade on Dauphin Island, but lots of fun! A few "Fun Facts" about Mardi Gras that you might not know: Mardi Gras originated in Mobile, AL. I know, I know. You thought it was New Orleans. It wasn't. NOLA doesn't really like to admit that, but it's true. Support from our friends at Wikipedia: Mardi Gras in Mobile, Alabama is the oldest annual Carnival celebration in America, having begun in 1703, over 15 years before New Orleans was founded (1718). From Mobile being the first capital of French Louisiana (1702), the festival began as a French Catholic tradition, celebrating until the start of Lent on Ash Wednesday, until midnight on Mardi Gras day (French for "Fat Tuesday" or Shrove Tuesday). However, Mardi Gras in Mobile now has evolved into a mainstream multi-week celebration across the spectrum of cultures...