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146 free Mardi Gras trivia questions with answers — trivia quiz, new questions added Aug 2026.
50 free Mardi Gras trivia questions with answers. Laissez les bons temps rouler! Mardi Gras is more than just beads and Bourbon Street — it's a centuries-old tradition rooted in faith, culture, and the irresistible spirit of New Orleans. How much do you know?
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Q 01What does "Mardi Gras" literally translate to in English?
Fat Tuesday
Mardi Gras is French for "Fat Tuesday," referring to the practice of eating rich, fatty foods before the fasting season begins on Ash Wednesday.
Q 02What are the three traditional colors of Mardi Gras?
Purple, green, and gold
Purple, green, and gold are the traditional Mardi Gras colors; New Orleans krewes have flown them since the 1870s, and king cakes are iced in the same three shades.
Q 03What Christian season does Mardi Gras immediately precede?
Lent
Mardi Gras falls the day before Ash Wednesday, which marks the beginning of Lent — a 40-day period of fasting and penance leading up to Easter.
Q 04Which U.S. city is most famous for its Mardi Gras celebrations?
New Orleans
New Orleans is synonymous with Mardi Gras in the United States. Its Carnival season runs from Epiphany to Mardi Gras day itself, with the largest parades rolling in the final five days.
Q 05What small plastic figurine is traditionally hidden inside a king cake?
A baby
A small plastic baby (representing the baby Jesus) is hidden inside king cake. The person who finds the baby in their slice is traditionally expected to host the next king cake party or buy the next cake.
Q 06What items are most commonly thrown from Mardi Gras parade floats to spectators?
Beads
Strings of plastic beads are by far the most common Mardi Gras throw; in 2018 New Orleans pulled some 93,000 pounds of discarded beads from storm drains along five blocks of St. Charles Avenue.
Q 07What is the name of the famous street in New Orleans known for its Mardi Gras revelry?
Bourbon Street
Bourbon Street in the French Quarter is the epicenter of Mardi Gras nightlife and celebrations. While parades actually run along other streets like St. Charles Avenue, Bourbon Street is famous for its festive atmosphere.
Q 08What snack cake is the signature parade throw of Mobile, Alabama's Mardi Gras?
MoonPie
MoonPies, the marshmallow sandwich cookies baked in Chattanooga, Tennessee, are Mobile's signature throw; the city even lowers a giant electric MoonPie at its New Year's Eve countdown.
Q 09In which month does Mardi Gras most often fall?
February
Mardi Gras falls in February about three years in four. It comes 47 days before Easter, so only a late Easter, on April 17 or after, pushes it into March.
Q 10Which Cajun French phrase is the unofficial motto of Mardi Gras?
Laissez les bons temps rouler
Laissez les bons temps rouler is a word-for-word translation from English; one historian traces it to Louis Jordan's 1946 record 'Let the Good Times Roll'.
Q 11What organization or social club organizes a Mardi Gras parade in New Orleans?
A krewe
Krewes are the private social clubs that stage New Orleans parades; the word is a deliberate antique respelling of 'crew' coined in the 1850s, and each krewe pays for its own floats and throws.
Q 12Which krewe, founded in 1872, is credited with choosing the official Mardi Gras colors?
Rex
Rex chose purple, green and gold for its debut parade in 1872, asking the public to decorate balconies in the three colours; the symbolic meanings assigned to them came only years later.
Q 13What deep-fried pastry covered in powdered sugar is a beloved New Orleans Mardi Gras treat?
Beignet
Q 21What is the name of the first documented Mardi Gras parade organization in New Orleans, founded in 1857?
Mistick Krewe of Comus
The Mistick Krewe of Comus, founded in 1857, was the first documented krewe to organize a formal Mardi Gras parade with themed floats and torchlight processions in New Orleans.
Q 22Which krewe stages Mardi Gras's largest parade and a Superdome extravaganza?
Endymion
Founded in 1966, it is one of only three super krewes, the ones with celebrity grand marshals, and its post-parade party fills the Superdome.
Q 23Which Southwest Louisiana genre blends Creole, Cajun, blues and R&B?
Zydeco
Zydeco is a music genre that originated in Southwest Louisiana among the Creole community. It features accordion and washboard (frottoir) prominently and is a beloved part of Mardi Gras and Cajun/Creole culture.
Beignets are square French-style doughnuts covered in powdered sugar. Café Du Monde in the French Quarter is the most famous spot for beignets, serving them 24 hours a day, especially popular during Carnival season.
Q 14In what century did Mardi Gras celebrations first arrive in what is now the United States?
The 1600s
The 1600s: in 1699 French-Canadian explorer Pierre Le Moyne d'Iberville camped near the mouth of the Mississippi on the eve of the holiday and named the spot Pointe du Mardi Gras.
Q 15What famous New Orleans avenue is the main route for most Uptown Mardi Gras parades?
St. Charles Avenue
St. Charles Avenue is the primary route for Uptown Mardi Gras parades. Floats roll under the famous oak trees along this historic avenue before turning onto Canal Street near the French Quarter.
Q 16What do Mardi Gras "doubloons" refer to?
Aluminum coins thrown from the floats
Aluminum coins thrown from the floats, stamped with the krewe's name and theme; collectors trade them for decades.
Q 17What must New Orleans float riders wear by city law while parading?
Masks
Masks: a New Orleans ordinance requires everyone riding a parade float to be masked, a rule that keeps krewe members anonymous as they throw to the crowd.
Q 18Which South American city hosts the world's largest Carnival celebration?
Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro's street parties are the real giants: one bloco drew more than 2 million revellers in 2012.
Q 19What musical genre, born in New Orleans, is closely associated with Mardi Gras celebrations?
Jazz
Jazz, which originated in New Orleans in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, is deeply woven into Mardi Gras culture. Brass bands, jazz funerals, and improvisational street performances are hallmarks of the Carnival season.
Q 20What does the purple color in Mardi Gras symbolize?
Justice
Purple stands for justice, green for faith and gold for power, a symbolism Rex proclaimed in a colour-themed parade years after the colours were first used; some historians think they were originally chosen purely for looks.
Q 24Which Italian city's Carnival, famous for its elaborate masks, dates back to the 13th century?
Venice
A 1268 Venetian law banning masked revellers from throwing scented eggs is among the earliest records of Venice's Carnival; the masks let nobles and commoners mingle anonymously.
Q 25In New Orleans Mardi Gras tradition, what are the Mardi Gras Indians known for?
Sewing elaborate beaded suits
A suit usually takes six to nine months to plan and sew, and with ostrich-feather headdresses can weigh over 150 pounds. The tradition honours the Native Americans who sheltered enslaved ancestors.
Q 26What Cajun tradition has masked horseback riders going door to door in rural Louisiana on Fat Tuesday?
Courir de Mardi Gras
Courir de Mardi Gras, the 'Mardi Gras run', is a rural Cajun tradition in which costumed riders travel farm to farm on Fat Tuesday, chasing live chickens and collecting ingredients for a communal gumbo.
Q 27What celebrity actor co-founded the Krewe of Orpheus in 1993?
Harry Connick Jr.
New Orleans native Harry Connick Jr. co-founded the Krewe of Orpheus in 1993. The krewe was notable for being open to both men and women and has featured numerous celebrity monarchs over the years.
Q 28What Louisiana stew, made with dark roux, okra and meat or shellfish, is a classic Mardi Gras dish?
Gumbo
Gumbo is one of Louisiana's signature dishes and a Mardi Gras staple. It starts with a dark roux and typically includes okra, the "holy trinity" of onions, celery, and bell pepper, and some combination of sausage, chicken, or shellfish.
Q 29Which Caribbean nation's Carnival is built on steelpan, soca and 'mas' costumes?
Trinidad and Tobago
Trinidad and Tobago's Carnival, the birthplace of steelpan and soca, climaxes on the Monday and Tuesday before Ash Wednesday with masquerade bands, calypso tents and stick-fighting.
Q 30What do crowds traditionally shout at float riders in New Orleans, begging for beads and doubloons?
Throw me something, mister!
'Throw me something, mister!' is so ingrained it is part of the city's Carnival vocabulary; riders hear it thousands of times along the route.