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50 free Mardi Gras Trivia for Kids trivia questions with answers — pop culture quiz, new questions added Aug 2026.
This Mardi Gras trivia for kids is a fun, easy quiz for players aged around 8 to 12 who want to know what all the beads and king cake are about. The questions cover what 'Mardi Gras' means, why it always falls on a Tuesday, the purple, green and gold colors, the krewes that build the floats and toss the throws, Zulu's painted coconuts, the baby in the king cake, the parade for costumed dogs, the giant shoe float and the Cajun chicken chase. There is a little history too: the French explorers who first celebrated it in Louisiana in 1699, why Mobile, Alabama claims the oldest party, and how New Orleans made it a state holiday. It also looks at Carnival around the world, from pancake races in England and masks in Venice to samba in Rio, orange-throwing in Belgium and 'Alaaf!' in Cologne. Everything is family-friendly, and every answer comes with a short explanation that adds one more fun fact. Grown-ups can try our main Mardi Gras trivia (brainpickle.app/quiz/a/mardi-gras) or the hard version (brainpickle.app/quiz/a/hard-mardi-gras). Every answer has been checked against a reference encyclopaedia, and each question shows its explanation and citation once you have answered.
30 of 50 questions with answers and explanations. Play the quiz
Q 01What does 'Mardi Gras' mean in French?
Fat Tuesday
It is the last day for eating rich, fatty foods before the fasting season of Lent begins.
Q 02Mardi Gras always falls on the day before which day?
Ash Wednesday
Ash Wednesday is the first day of Lent, so Mardi Gras is the last big celebration before it.
Q 03In New Orleans, the Carnival season begins on which date?
January 6
That day is called Twelfth Night, the last night of Christmas.
Q 04What are the three traditional colors of Mardi Gras in New Orleans?
Purple, green and gold
The Rex organization first suggested the colors in 1872, asking people to hang banners from their balconies.
Q 05Which krewe first chose the Mardi Gras colors before its first parade in 1872?
Rex
Rex still stages one of the biggest parades on Mardi Gras Day itself.
Q 06What is a 'krewe'?
A parade-and-ball club
The word was made up as an old-fashioned spelling of 'crew' by the Mistick Krewe of Comus.
Q 07Which is the oldest krewe in New Orleans, founded in 1856?
Comus
Comus was inspired by a parading society from Mobile, Alabama, and its full name is the Mistick Krewe of Comus.
Q 08Things tossed from parade floats to the crowd are called what?
Throws
They include plastic bead necklaces, coins called doubloons, cups and toys like Frisbees.
Q 09Which krewe is famous for throwing hand-painted coconuts?
Zulu
Its members also wear grass skirts, and Zulu was the first parade to become racially integrated.
Q 10Which krewe famously began throwing glass beads to the crowd in the early 1900s?
Rex
Traditionally the beads were made in Japan and the Czech Republic; today most come from China.
Q 11Traditionally, Mardi Gras beads were made in the Czech Republic and which other country?
Japan
Now most of the plastic necklaces are imported from mainland China.
Q 12A king cake traditionally has a tiny figurine or bean hidden inside representing whom?
The Christ Child
Whoever finds it is crowned king or queen and often has to bring the next cake.
Q 13A king cake is linked to which Christian holiday celebrating the visit of the Three Kings?
Epiphany
It is eaten right through Carnival, from Epiphany until Ash Wednesday.
What comes with a store-bought king cake so the person who finds the hidden charm can be crowned?
Q 21Mardi Gras Indians are famous for what?
Elaborate beaded suits
The suits pay homage to Native Americans who sheltered runaway slaves, and they can take a whole year to sew.
Q 22French explorers first celebrated Mardi Gras in Louisiana in which year?
1699
Iberville, Bienville and their men marked it near the mouth of the Mississippi River on March 2 that year.
Q 23Which Alabama city claims the oldest official Carnival celebration in the United States, from 1703?
Mobile
Masked balls, parades and throws all appeared there before New Orleans made them famous.
A paper crown
The New Orleans version is a Creole cousin of the French galette des rois.
Q 15Which Mardi Gras parade has dogs in costumes as its participants?
The Krewe of Barkus
Each year the dogs dress to a central theme, and their humans walk them through the French Quarter.
Q 16The all-female Krewe of Muses has a signature float shaped like what?
A giant red high heel
Its members also hand out decorated shoes as prized throws.
Q 17Which krewe's parade is the largest in New Orleans and ends inside the Superdome?
Endymion
Its first parade rolled in 1967 in the Gentilly neighborhood near the racetrack.
Q 18Which krewe, founded in 1968, was the first to have celebrities ride in its parade?
Bacchus
It was started by restaurateur Owen Brennan Jr. and became one of the first 'super krewes'.
Q 19Which singer and pianist helped found the Krewe of Orpheus in 1993?
Harry Connick Jr.
He founded it with his father, and released the album Smokey Mary for the krewe's 20th anniversary.
Q 20Flambeaux, who march carrying flaming torches, originally did what job?
Lit the way after dark
They still twirl their torches for tips, a tradition that began before street lighting existed.
Q 24Which wrapped snack is a favorite parade throw in Alabama's oldest Carnival city?
MoonPies
Mobile floats also toss beads, doubloons, cups, stuffed animals and footballs.
Q 25Louisiana made Mardi Gras a legal state holiday in what year?
1875
Schools and many businesses close, and the whole state celebrates, not only New Orleans.
Q 26In Cajun country, the Courir de Mardi Gras ends with people chasing what animal for the gumbo pot?
A chicken
Riders in masks and costumes go from farm to farm begging for ingredients, a custom from medieval France.
Q 27In Britain, the day before Lent is best known for eating what?
Pancakes
People used up their eggs and butter before Lent, which is why it is also called Pancake Day.
Q 28The famous pancake race in Olney, England is said to have started in what year?
1445
Legend says a housewife ran to church still holding her frying pan; Olney now races the town of Liberal, Kansas every year.
Q 29The day after Mardi Gras is named for the ashes that churchgoers receive where?
On their foreheads
The ashes are made by burning palm leaves saved from the previous year's Palm Sunday.
Q 30Lent, the season that starts right after Mardi Gras, is described as lasting how many days?
40
It recalls the 40 days Jesus spent fasting in the desert and leads up to Easter.