Is Carnival the same as Mardi Gras?

Is Carnival the same as Mardi Gras?

Carnival, which originated from the Latin word "carnem levare" which means no meat. Christians performed baptisms on Easter Sunday. People would pray & fast before they were baptized, so this soon became the tradition we call Lent. Carnival is the season between Christmas and Lent which begins in New Orleans on the Twelfth Night and continues until the midnight of Fat Tuesday ( Mardi Gras Day ), the day before Ash Wednesday and the beginning of Lent. The date for Ash Wednesday changes and depends on the date of Easter. The exciting weeks of Carnival are filled with elegant balls, fancy banquets and other Carnival related social activities. Both children and adults quickly began to love the exciting holiday Carnival.

"Mardi Gras" , French for Fat Tuesday is the day before Ash Wednesday. Mardi Gras is always 47 days before Easter Sunday and can fall between February 3 and March 9. Mardi Gras is generally used to refer to the whole Carnival season, especially during the final two weeks when most of the parades occur in New Orleans. Most New Orleanians refer to the entire Carnival season as "Mardi Gras" but some traditionalist of Mardi Gras may make a big deal over the technical term.