Mardi Gras tree at Mardi Gras Park with Renaissance Riverview

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A Mardi Gras tree stands in Mardi Gras Park, Jan. 31, 2021, in Mobile, Alabama. In the background are the Renaissance Riverview Plaza on the left and the RSA Battle House Tower on the right. Mobile, which was founded by French settlers in 1702, is considered the birthplace of Mardi Gras in America, holding the first organized Mardi Gras celebration in 1703. The word Mardi Gras refers to Fat Tuesday, which is the last day before Lent begins, but the entire Mardi Gras season begins in January after the Feast of the Epiphany. Mardi Gras is a season of revelry and merrymaking held before the austere 40-day period of Lent. Mardi Gras is also celebrated in New Orleans and other cities, and other cities around the world hold similar festivities known as Carnival. Although Mardi Gras typically includes street parades which draw thousands of people to Mobile, the parades have been cancelled this year due to COVID-19. Instead, people around the city have chosen to decorate homes and businesses, beginning a new tradition of “Yardi Gras.” (Photo by Carmen K. Sisson/Cloudybright)