Top Ten Tuesdays- Mardi Gras Facts & Hops

Tomorrow is Mardi Gras or also known as "Fat Tuesday." So for this week's Top Ten Tuesday I thought that it would be appropriate to to a little research and dig up the 10 most interesting facts surrounding this interesting day.

1. The first "modern" Mardi Gras Celebration was in 1857 in the United States. This is everything that we know about Mardi Gras today- the masks, costumes, etc. (Reference: Encyclopedia.com)
2. Shrove Tuesday is yet another name given to the last day to indulge before the start of Lent for Catholics. (Reference: Factmonster.com)
3. Brazil, Venice and New Orleans have some of the most famous Mardi Gras Festivals (Reference: History.com).
4. Historians believe that the first Mardi Gras Celebrations were started by the Romans celebrating fertility and was later adopted by the church (Reference: http://www.holidays.net/mardigras/story.htm).
5. Masks were banned in New Orleans from the 1700's when the Spanish had control- up until 1827- 24 years after it became apart of the U.S. (Reference: Mardi Gras History).
6. Balls were also not permitted until 1823, 20 years after New Orleans became a U.S. city (Reference: New Orleans Online).
7. "Louisiana is the only state in which Mardi Gras is a legal holiday." (Reference: History.com).
8.   Krewes are organizations that form Mardi Gras Festivals. Want to know how to join one? Read this article from eHow.com. 
9. Mardi Gras beads didn't even become a tradition until the 1960's (Reference: Yahoo News).
10. Mardi Gras three colors purple (justice), green (faith) and gold (power) didn't become official until 1872 and were officially given a symbolic meaning in 1892 (Reference: Mardi Gras in New Orleans).

Don't Forget about my Mardi Gras Crafts!

Reposted with new hops: