When is Mardi Gras 2026? The meaning of the holiday, colors, history
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A parade participant hands out beads along the parade route in the Bastrop Mardi Gras Parade, Feb. 1, 2025. The second annual parade is part of the city’s Mardi Gras festival- a cultural exchange with Evangeline Parish, Louisiana celebrating Cajun culture and customs.
Sara Diggins/American-StatesmanFat Tuesday is just over a week away, marking the final — and biggest — day of the Mardi Gras season.
While the holiday is most closely associated with New Orleans, Mardi Gras has deep historical roots — and Texans celebrate it too, with major events already underway in Galveston.
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Here’s when Mardi Gras ends this year, where Texans celebrate, and why the holiday’s date changes every year.
![Tiffany Gitre, of Round Rock, sings and dances along with the Austin Samba group during Carnaval Brasileiro, a Brazilian-style Mardi Gras, at Emo???s in Austin, Feb. 22, 2020. The first Austin based Carnaval was put on by Brazilian University of Texas students about 45 years ago, according to the festival???s website. [Angela Piazza for Statesman]](https://s.hdnux.com/photos/01/53/72/61/28290128/3/ratio3x2_720.jpg)
Tiffany Gitre, of Round Rock, sings and dances along with the Austin Samba group during Carnaval Brasileiro, a Brazilian-style Mardi Gras, at Emo???s in Austin, Feb. 22, 2020. The first Austin based Carnaval was put on by Brazilian University of Texas students about 45 years ago, according to the festival???s website. [Angela Piazza for Statesman]
Austin 360When is Mardi Gras and Fat Tuesday 2026?
In the Catholic tradition, Mardi Gras begins on Epiphany, also known as Three Kings Day, which falls on Jan. 6 each year.
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The season ends on Fat Tuesday, which falls on Feb. 17 this year.
The date changes annually because it’s tied to Easter, which falls on April 5 this year. Fat Tuesday always takes place 47 days before Easter.
![Mardi Gras is a popular annual event in Galveston. [Contributed by Galveston CVB]](https://s.hdnux.com/photos/01/52/02/67/27798993/6/ratio3x2_720.jpg)
Mardi Gras is a popular annual event in Galveston. [Contributed by Galveston CVB]
Austin 360What does Mardi Gras mean — and why is it called Fat Tuesday?
Fat Tuesday marks the final day of celebration before Ash Wednesday, which begins the season of Lent.
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Historically, Christians used the day to indulge in rich, fatty foods — such as meat, butter and sweets — before a period of fasting and restraint.
The name “Mardi Gras” comes from French and literally means “Fat Tuesday.”
Suzanne Cordeiro/ For American-Statesman Third Annual Mardi Gras Dog Parade held at Austin Beer Garden Brewing Co on February 3, 2018 in Austin, Texas.
/ American-StatesmanWhat do the Mardi Gras colors mean?
According to Mardi Gras New Orleans, there are a few stories behind the traditional colors of purple, green and gold. In 1892, the Rex parade in New Orleans — the origin of many Mardi Gras traditions in the city — assigned meaning to the colors: Purple represents justice, green represents faith and gold represents power. The organization said the common story is that the colors were officially designated in 1872 to honor the visiting Russian Grand Duke Alesei Alexandrovich Romanoff.
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But a historian working on a book about the traditions uncovered a slightly different explanation — yes, the 1872 parade was the first to use the colors, per an order from the King of Carnival himself. But the reasoning for the colors is more unknown: Purple was the obvious first choice due to its association with royalty. The historian believed that the other two colors were chosen mostly due to the rules of establishing a coat of arms and a flag.
” Then, according to ‘heraldry,’ you need both ‘metals’ and ‘colors.’ When it came to metals, gold also seemed obvious for a king. Then, also according to rules that determine coat of arms, there are only five acceptable color choices: Red, blue, purple, green and black,” the website reads.
Suzanne Cordeiro/ For American-Statesman Third Annual Mardi Gras Dog Parade held at Austin Beer Garden Brewing Co on February 3, 2018 in Austin, Texas.
/ American-StatesmanWhen is Mardi Gras in New Orleans 2026?
Fat Tuesday is always the day before Ash Wednesday, and Ash Wednesday is always 46 days before Easter — so you can calculate Mardi Gras dates based on the day Easter falls on each year. Easter generally falls between March 23 and April 25, but more specifically, it’s the first Sunday following the Paschal Moon — the first full moon on or after the spring equinox.
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Here are the official Mardi Gras dates for the next 10 years:
- Feb. 17, 2026
- Feb. 9, 2027
- Feb. 29, 2028
- Feb. 13, 2029
- March 5, 2030
- Feb. 25, 2031
- Feb. 10, 2032
- March 1, 2033
- Feb. 21, 2034
- Feb. 6, 2035
- Feb. 26, 2036
Jodie Smith dances along the parade route while marching in the Bastrop Mardi Gras Parade last year. This year’s event, scheduled to run Friday and Saturday, has been canceled because of the weather forecast for the weekend.
Where did Mardi Gras originate?
According to History.com, Mardi Gras traces its roots back thousands of years to ancient pagan festivals celebrating the coming of spring.
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As Christianity spread through Europe, those celebrations were folded into the church calendar and eventually traveled to the Americas.
In 1699, French explorers marked the first Mardi Gras celebration in what is now the United States near present-day Louisiana — though some historians point to Mobile, Alabama, as the site of the earliest celebration.
The first modern Mardi Gras parade in New Orleans took place in the 1830s.
A parade participant pilots the Legend 1050 KVPI float through downtown Bastrop in the Bastrop Mardi Gras Parade, Feb. 1, 2025.
Sara Diggins/American-StatesmanDo Texans celebrate Mardi Gras?
Yes — and in a big way.
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The largest Mardi Gras celebration in Texas takes place each year in Galveston, where events run from Feb. 6 through Feb. 17, including both weekends and Fat Tuesday itself.
The island’s celebration is the third-largest in the U.S. and draws more than 350,000 people each year, according to Visit Galveston. The full schedule for this year’s 115th celebration is available at mardigrasgalveston.com.
While traditions vary by region, the focus remains on celebration before Lent begins.
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Rev. John Hathaway places ashes on the forehead of Suzanne Barnard in downtown Austin on Ash Wednesday March 5, 2025. Pastors from First United Methodist Church performed the imposition of ashes for passers-by at an ashes-to-go event on the corner of West 13th and Lavaca streets. Ash Wednesday marks the first day of Lent, a 40-day period of solemn observance that ends on Easter Sunday. “We’re bringing God’s love out into the streets so everyone appreciates that they are beloved children of God without exception,” Hathaway said.
Jay Janner/American-StatesmanWhen is Lent 2026?
Fat Tuesday kicks off the Lent season in the Christian faith, marking the 40 days leading up to Easter. According to the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, Lent marks a season of prayer and fasting starting Ash Wednesday (Feb. 17, 2026) and ending Holy Thursday (April 2, 2026). It’s meant as a time for Christians to reflect on the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
