History on Mardi Gras. The French term Mardi Gras, which means Fat Tuesday, has come to mean the whole period of Carnival celebration beyond just the single day before Ash Wednesday. Some treat the final three-day period before Ash Wednesday as being Mardi Gras. Today Mardi Gras events begin in November with mystic society balls on Thanksgiving, followed by New Year�s parades, then ending with masquerade balls in January & February, celebrating up to midnight before Ash Wednesday.
