Is Mardi Gras 2021 cancelled?

Nobody can beat the spirits of New Orleans when it comes to holiday
celebrations, not even the pandemic!

Closed bars, New Orleans shop, frigid weather, and canceled parades didn’t put
an end on old traditions, instead, the high-spirited citizens of New Orleans invented
a new pandemic-styled event: Yardi Gras!

Started as a social media joke, Megan Boudreaux tweeted that
she will transform her house into a float, following the announcement of
cancelled Carnival parades in 2021. The tweet went viral, and now, about 3000 New Orleans homes
are turned into a stationary porch parade!

“I’m definitely overwhelmed at just how over the top the
response has been,” said Boudreaux.

Is Mardi Gras the same as fat tuesday?

Mardi Gras, also known as Fat Tuesday, is the annual
pre-Lenten festival observed in pretty much all across the Gulf Coast. This
holiday falls on the day before Ash Wednesday, which marks the start of the six-week-long
period of Lent where Catholics spend most of their time fasting and praying
till Easter.

While Lent is typically marked by devotees observing fasts
both from food and festivities, Mardi Gras 2021 Fat Tuesday is usually characterized by lavish
celebrations and feasting— as suggested by its name: “Fat Tuesday.” The day involves
the practice of late night feasting and eating fatty foods before the start of
fasting season of Lenten.

Mardi Gras Meaning:

Mardi Gras is also called Shrove Tuesday in some countries
such as the United Kingdom – the word ‘Shrove’ is derived from Shrive, which means
“to administer the sacrament of confession to; to absolve.”

To celebrate this day, people hold parades in every nook and
cranny around the world each year, with some of the biggest and perhaps the
most popular celebrations taking place in catholic New Orleans including Mardi Gras 2021 vacation packages.

But earlier, John Bel Edwards, Governor of Louisiana, warned
the tourists that they won’t be able to enjoy the festival as they did on
pre-pandemic days. 

“If people think they are going to come to Louisiana,
anywhere, or New Orleans and engage in the kind of activities they would have
pre-pandemic, then they are mistaken, and quite frankly they are not welcome
here to do that,” Edward said in a press conference.

Last year’s Mardi Gras celebrations went terribly wrong, as
it is believed to have contributed in the rapid surge in COVID-19 cases, making
the city a hot spot in the United States.

In an attempt to reduce the risk of virus transmission this
year, the authorities implemented a temporary ban on parades and any sort of
large gatherings during Fat Tuesday – these parades usually draw over 1 million
tourists to the city’s streets every year. 

But that doesn’t stop the citizens from celebrating Mardi Gras amid Covid-19, as they spend their effort and time planning for the safer
alternative of celebration to keep the celebratory spirit alive! They dotted
their houses with décor, turning their porches into literal immobile parades.

Now, that’s come classic quarantine celebration!

Some locals even hired artists who had lost their jobs
because of the pandemic and rented pops from companies that had badly suffered.

This pandemic-friendly approach has unexpectedly brought
people together, as they modified this centuries-old tradition into a house
party and found a unique way to keep their spirits rolling!

So what if you can’t travel to New Orleans for the festival
celebrations, you can still relish the event with the images we’ve brought to
you straight from what has now been called Yardi Gras:  

Source: Getty

Source: Getty Images

Not just the residents of New Orleans, but people all around
the globe celebrated the festival by decorating their houses. Here is a glimpse
at some of these:

Source: Getty Images

Source: the Atlantic

Source: USA today

So, what do you think about the new Yardi Gras celebrations?
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Happy Mardi Gras, or should we say, Yardi Gras!