Mardi Gras has become indisputably synonymous with New Orleans. But—at the risk of having a Mr. Portokalos in My Big Fat Greek Wedding, “Now, gimme a word, any word, and I'll show you how the root of that word is Greek” moment—the first Mardi Gras celebrated in the United States actually took place in Mobile, Alabama, in 1703. The first recorded Mardi Gras parade in New Orleans wasn’t until 1837, a fact that has been enthusiastically shared with me by many proud (and rightly so) lower Alabama natives.
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