Mardi Gras History and Traditions Mardi Gras is about music, parades, picnics, floats and excitement. It's a big holiday in New Orleans! Everyone is wearing purple, green, and gold with long beads caught from the beautiful floats. You'll see a lot of crazy costumes, kids everywhere, and both locals and visitors having a great time. People sit on the ground, throw balls, play music, eat great food and watch the crowds walk by between parades. During Mardi Gras, near all of the businesses and roads are shut down. Mardi Gras Colors Mardi Gras has its official colors, they are - purple, green and gold. The colors were selected to honor the Russian Grand Duke Alexis Alexandrovich, whose house colors were purple, green and gold. Purple represents Justice. Green represents Faith. Gold represents Power. Krewes & Mardi Gras Floats Parades are a major part of celebrating Mardi Gras. Floats are the core of parades. There is an organization that puts on a parade in Mardi Gras, called Krewe. 克鲁，一个在新奥尔良狂欢节主持庆祝活动的民间组织 Some floats are elaborate and beautiful, while others are funny and satirical. Many krewes have a theme to their parade each year. They take their floats serious. Every year, they spend a lot of time and money in making them, in a secret way. Mardi Gras Parade Throws Throws are items that krewe members on floats throw to people. It is a time-honored tradition. Throws often include doubloons, beads, toys and other homemade trinkets On parade day, dozens of krewe members will ride on the floats, tossing throws to cheer crowds. (Seeing what the krewes come up with each year is never boring.) King Cakes King Cakes are an important part of the Mardi Gras. Christian people follow the tradition of baking this special cake in memory of the biblical three kings who visited Jesus after his birth. A king cake is a bread ring with some delicious sugar toppings in the Mardi Gras colors-purple, green and gold, sometimes with cream cheese and fruits. Traditionally, a small plastic or porcelain baby will be hidden into the king cake to symbolize baby Jesus. Today, the baby symbolizes luck and prosperity to whoever finds it in their slice of cake. And that person is also responsible for buying next year’s cake, or for holding the next Mardi Gras home party. Photo Contest Recent years, Krewes will hold a photo contest after Mardi Gras. Quotation Finally, the mayor of New Orleans is saying sth. 本文来源：https://www.wddqw.com/doc/3b9ec2a9bb4cf7ec4bfed01e.html