Mardi Gras is celebrated in many southern U.S. states, but the most famous celebration happens every year in New Orleans, where the first American Mardi Gras was celebrated in 1699 by the French explorer Iberville. During the 1700s, when New Orleans was still under French rule, people there would throw dinner parties and masked balls for Mardi Gras. When the Spanish gained control of New Orleans, they banned these customs, and the ban continued even after New Orleans became a part of the United States. Finally, in 1827, Mardi Gras celebrations were legalized again.
Today, people come to New Orleans for Mardi Gras from all across the country. People wear green, gold, and purple and fill the streets of the French Quarter, throwing plastic beads and eating circular pastries called king cakes.
