Mardi Gras is French for "Fat Tuesday", reflecting the practice of the last night of eating rich, fatty foods before the fasting of Lent begins.

"Laissez les bon temps rouler" is a word-for-word translation of the English phrase "let the good times roll" into Cajun French.

Carnival refers to the period of feasting and fun that begins Jan. 6, also known as The Feast of Epiphany. Mardi Gras technically refers to the final day of revelry, although the term has come to be used in a larger sense.

According to legend, the first parade participant to throw beads was a man dressed as Santa Claus during the 1880s. The ornamental strands were such a hit that other participants picked up on the ritual. By 1900, when at least 100,000 tourists flocked to New Orleans for Mardi Gras, beaded throws had become a tradition.

In 1703, 15 years before New Orleans was even founded, French settlers in Mobile, Alabama established the first organized Mardi Gras celebration in what was to become the United States.

The traditional colors of Mardi Gras are purple, green, and gold. Those colors first appeared in 1872 as part of a spectacle honoring the New Orleans visit of Grand Duke Alexei Alexandrovich of Russia during Carnival season.

Twelfth Night is the last day of the Twelve Days of Christmas (also called Christmastide) and is the traditional end of the Christmas season. In New Orleans, it also marks the beginning of Carnival when a group called the Phunny Phorty Phellows rides down St. Charles in a streetcar throwing out the first beads.

They're organized by groups called krewes that are usually named for figures of Greek or Roman mythology. Each krewe chooses a new parade theme every year.

The Mistick Krewe of Comus, founded in 1856, is the oldest continuously operating organizer of Mardi Gras festivities and is credited with introducing floats to the parade in 1857. Comus is the Greek God of Revelry.

About half a million king cakes are sold in New Orleans every year around Mardi Gras, with another 50,000 shipped out to customers in other states. The treats are a part of an Epiphany tradition that has been around since at least the 1300s.