Mardi Gras beads in the Marigny, New Orleans, USA

© Erik Pronske Photography/Getty Image

Let the good times roll!. Pancake Day

Get ready to revel, because Mardi Gras is here! Also called Pancake Day, Pancake Tuesday, Fat Tuesday or Shrove Tuesday, the holiday was originally celebrated to live life to the fullest before fasting and giving up other indulgences for Lent—though many modern celebrators are just happy to use the occasion as an excuse to party. Fat Tuesday celebrations take place in cities and countries around the world, particularly those with French influence, due to the settlers that brought the custom. Out of these places, New Orleans in the United States has become intrinsically linked with the festival thanks to its massive four-to-eight-week-long celebration.

Multiple Mardi Gras parades are held there each year, with the celebration officially starting on January 6, King's Day. Social clubs, known as krewes, hold parades, which have assigned schedules and routes. Revelers gather along the way, hoping to catch coins, cups and beads thrown by float riders—such as the ones seen in our image—a tradition that started in the 1880s. Ready to make merry and join the parade?