History Dates of Mardi Gras Celebrations and Party Invitations

LAFAYETTE, La. - June 30, 2016 - PRLog -- Celebrate Mardi Gras on Dates Established with Discount Party Invites

If you have attended a Mardi Gras with all its parties, parades, and carnival activities, you already know that there's nothing quite like it anywhere in the world. It is told that a similar celebration had existed in Europe long before they arrived in the new world and eventually settled in New Orleans. Way back in the time of the ancient Romans, a festival known as Lupercalia was regularly celebrated. This celebratory event was more like a circus honoring the Roman deity Lupercus. Although personalized Mardi Gras party invitation cards were unlikely to be available then, and these ancient events might not have been as fun and exciting as the modern day Mardi Gra carnival celebrations, they did have lots of similarities and connections to today's Fat Tuesday festivities ending in February each year.

Mardi Gras Celebration Date Changes Each Year

It would be much more simple if the carnival celebrations for Mardi Gras were scheduled on the same dates each year, like the Independence Day, Christmas, and so on. And, it would be easier for those celebrating if, like Labor Day or Thanksgiving, Mardi Gras were tied to the first or last Tuesday of a specific month. But, that would take some of the fun, excitement, and enjoyment out of this holiday.

2017 Thru 2027 Dates for Celebrating Mardi Gras

The reason the dates fluctuates goes back many centuries to when a fixed date for Christmas was established by the Catholic Church, but changing dates for other religious holidays. The Easter holiday was set to coincide with the first Sunday after the full moon following the spring equinox and Easter can fall on any Sunday between March 23rd and April 25th. Then, Mardi Gras was then scheduled to fall 47 days before Easter, which means it can occur on any Tuesday from February 3rd through March 9th. For your convenience, here are the dates for Mardi Gras for the next 10 years, 2017 thru 2027:

• 2017: February 28th;
• 2018: February 13th;
• 2019: March 5th;
• 2020: February 25th;
• 2021: February 16th;
• 2022: March 1st;
• 2023: February 21st;
• 2024: February 13th;
• 2025: March 4th;
• 2026: February 17th; and
• 2027: February 9th.

Origins and Growth of Mardi Gra

While a direct connection between the party invites for Mardi you customize and the ancient celebrations may not be totally clear, it's not such a long shot that some convergence exists. Remember that Christianity took hold first in Rome. As was common at the time, many of the elements of Lupercalia were blended into the new Mardi Gras Fat Tuesday traditions. For example, Mardi Gras became a time of merriment and indulgence, and party goers could free themselves by wearing Mardi Gras costumes and masks.

They could feast or could even abandon their senses to other Roman gods, such as Venus (Love) and Bacchus (Wine). Anyone who has ever attending a Mardi Gras costume event should be able to see the connection between those ancient, pagan festivals and modern Mardi Gras traditions and about Mardi Gras invitations cards history.

How the Holiday Started in the United States

Another belief is that the celebrations for Mardi Gras was brought to New Orleans in 1827 by a group of students who had recently returned from school in Paris donned Mardi Gras brightly colored costumes and danced their way through the streets. Those students had experienced this revelry while enjoying the same type Mardi Gras celebrations in Paris. This version has it with the inhabitants of New Orleans were quickly captured by the enthusiasm and started following participating and enjoying the Mardi Gras celebrations. Although those Mardi Gras party celebrations might not have been the same as these of today, it could have been an interesting precursor.

About the Author

Read more about celebrating and the history of Mardi Gras and colorful Mardi Gras invitations for Fat Tuesday parties, http://www.invitationsbyu.com/mardi-gras-invitations.htm written by Sarah Porter for various blogs, forums, newspapers, magazines, and websites such as http://www.invitationsbyu.com