Happy Mardi Gras, Silver Spring!

Happy Mardi Gras, Escapers! How do you celebrate Mardi Gras? Do you attend a parade? Maybe eat some king cake? Or perhaps dress in your favorite masks and dance the night away?! We love learning about the history of Mardi Gras, and learn how you can start a unique Mardi Gras tradition by coming to play one of our exciting, themed escape rooms at Big Escape Rooms!

Want to try something a little different and unique this Mardi Gras? How about taking the group out to an Escape Room! What exactly is an escape room? It’s a thrilling, interactive scenario where you have to finish your mission before the time runs out. Want to save humanity from a zombie apocalypse? Or help the archaeologists find the location of the legendary hidden treasure and artifacts? You can do that at Big Escape rooms! To complete your mission, you’ll solve a series of puzzles, complete mazes, answer brain teasers, and decipher coded messages before the clock runs out of time. Your group will be stronger than ever after an experience at Big Escape Rooms!

Mardi Gras is the name given to the Carnival celebrations that begin on or after the Christian feasts of the Epiphany (Three Kings Day) and end on Shrove Tuesday, the day before Ash Wednesday. Mardi Gras is French for “Fat Tuesday,” and refers to the last night of eating rich, fatty foods before the Lenten season’s ritual sacrifices and fasting. The festival season varies by city, with certain customs, such as those in New Orleans, Louisiana, extending from Twelfth Night (the last night of Christmas before Epiphany) through Ash Wednesday. Others refer to the three days leading up to Ash Wednesday as Mardi Gras.

Mardi Gras is a one to three month period in New Orleans during which the streets are filled with music, art, and costumed revelers. The best season of the year begins on Twelfth Night, January 6, with king cake, bead-tossing, and marching, and it just gets better as we get closer to Mardi Gras Day. This year’s season will last until March 1, 2022, when Mardi Gras Day will be celebrated.

During Carnival season, there’s a lot to celebrate, and tourists are more than welcome to join in the festivities. Parades are held all throughout town on the weekends leading up to Fat Tuesday. Spectators marvel at the massive Endymion floats and enjoy Krewe du Vieux’s political satire. During the Mardi Gras season, there is something to do every week.

Shrove Tuesday is based on the Anglo-Saxon Christian custom of going to confession and being shriven, or absolved of sins, before the 40-day fast leading up to Easter. It was the last day before abstinence to use up eggs and other fatty meals, and pancakes were the ideal answer (hence the alternate holiday name).

While there are numerous parades and parties held during the celebration period, the Krewe du Vieux is the most anticipated because it is one of the first parades on the New Orleans Carnival calendar, having been founded in 1987 and featuring more than 40 themed parade processions as well as some of the best brass and traditional jazz bands in the city.

Bourbon Street in the French Quarter is one of the most popular parade places to witness the Mardi Gras excitement. The beautiful balcony-lined streets, the epicenter of the fun, are packed with wild partygoers taking in the sights while shouting at parade participants for beads and doubloons.

For a holiday dubbed “Fat Tuesday,” it’s only natural that food takes center stage. The king cake, in addition to pancakes and paczkis, is a typical Mardi Gras treat that is as much awaited as the beads. The ring-shaped cakes are fried or baked, glazed and iced, then decorated in traditional Mardi Gras colors. A unique component of the tradition is that a miniature baby figure is hidden inside the cake, and whoever finds it in their slice is obligated to throw the next large party.

We hope you’ve enjoyed learning about Mardi Gras with us today! Please book your escape room experience at Big Escape Rooms!