In the United States, Mardi Gras is an event that is very much celebrated in some southern cities. French for Fat Tuesday , Mardi Gras is always on the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday. This year it will be held on Tuesday Feb. 13. Mardi Gras is only one day but the Mardi Gras season, also known as the carnival season, can last for weeks culminating on Fat Tuesday.
Many people assume that New Orleans is the birthplace of Mardi Gras. However, many historians and researchers give the honor of originating Mardi Gras in the U.S. to another southern city: Mobile, Alabama. Mobile is located 144 miles away from New Orleans.
Some history books claim that the first Mardi Gras in America happened in 1699 when French explorers Pierre Le Moyne d’Iberville and Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville , also known as Sieur de Bienville, landed in Louisiana near the Mississippi River.
However, technically that fact may not be true according to the records of the two cities and when they were founded. Mobile was founded in 1702 while New Orleans was founded much later.