Mardi Gras 2027 falls on Tuesday, February 9, 2027, 47 days before Easter Sunday (March 28, 2027). Carnival season opens on Twelfth Night, Wednesday, January 6, 2027, and closes the following morning at Ash Wednesday, February 10, 2027, when the 40-day Lenten fasting period begins.
This guide covers the exact 2027 date and how it is calculated, a full parish-by-parish and district-by-district closure reference for schools and government offices, the New Orleans parade and krewe structure, comparison celebrations in Mobile, Galveston, and St. Louis, and trip-planning specifics including hotel timing, the Amtrak Mardi Gras Service, and the Carnival Mardi Gras cruise ship.
Table of Contents
When Is Mardi Gras 2027? Full Carnival Season Calendar
Mardi Gras 2027 is Tuesday, February 9, 2027, the last day of Carnival season and the day before Ash Wednesday. The date is not fixed on the civil calendar; it is calculated backward from Easter Sunday, which the Christian church sets according to a lunar formula.
In 2027, that formula places Easter on March 28, making the entire Carnival season roughly five weeks shorter than in years when Easter falls in April.
2027 Carnival Season Timeline: Twelfth Night Through Ash Wednesday
| Date | Day of Week | Event |
|---|---|---|
| Wednesday, January 6, 2027 | Wednesday | Twelfth Night (Feast of the Epiphany) — official start of Carnival season |
| Thursday, February 4, 2027 | Thursday | Jeudi Gras — traditional slot for the Krewe of Muses parade |
| Saturday, February 6, 2027 | Saturday | Traditional slot for super-krewe parades such as Endymion |
| Sunday, February 7, 2027 | Sunday | Traditional slot for super-krewe parades such as Bacchus |
| Monday, February 8, 2027 | Monday | Lundi Gras — traditional slot for the Krewe of Orpheus |
| Tuesday, February 9, 2027 | Tuesday | Mardi Gras / Fat Tuesday — Zulu and Rex parade, Carnival season ends at midnight |
| Wednesday, February 10, 2027 | Wednesday | Ash Wednesday — first day of Lent |
| Sunday, March 28, 2027 | Sunday | Easter Sunday — end of the 40-day Lenten season |
The weekday assignments above reflect each krewe’s customary night in the Carnival calendar, not a confirmed 2027 route filing.
New Orleans & Company and the individual krewes typically publish the finalized street-by-street parade schedule closer to the season; this table does not substitute for that official release.
Why Mardi Gras Moves Every Year: The Easter Calculation
Mardi Gras moves every year because its date is fixed relative to Easter, not to the civil calendar. Ash Wednesday always falls 46 days before Easter Sunday, and Mardi Gras is always the Tuesday immediately preceding it — 47 days before Easter.
Easter itself is defined as the first Sunday following the first full moon that occurs on or after the spring equinox, a rule adopted at the Council of Nicaea in 325 CE.
Because the relevant full moon can occur anywhere across a roughly one-month window, Easter can land on any Sunday between March 22 and April 25, and Mardi Gras can correspondingly fall on any Tuesday between February 3 and March 9.
A 2027 date of February 9 places it toward the early end of that range.
Mardi Gras 2027 Compared With 2026 and 2028
| Year | Fat Tuesday Date | Easter Sunday Date | Carnival Season Length (Twelfth Night–Fat Tuesday) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Tuesday, March 4, 2025 | Sunday, April 20, 2025 | 58 days |
| 2026 | Tuesday, February 17, 2026 | Sunday, April 5, 2026 | 43 days |
| 2027 | Tuesday, February 9, 2027 | Sunday, March 28, 2027 | 35 days |
| 2028 | Tuesday, February 29, 2028 | Sunday, April 16, 2028 | 55 days |
The 2027 season, at 35 days between Twelfth Night and Fat Tuesday, is the shortest of the four years shown. A compressed season leaves less spacing between the traditional weekend parade nights, which in practical terms concentrates krewe rosters and hotel demand into a narrower window than in a late-Easter year such as 2025.
Is Mardi Gras a Legal Holiday? School, Government, and Mail Closures for 2027
Mardi Gras is not a single, uniformly defined holiday category; its legal status depends on the level of government and the jurisdiction. It is not a federal holiday anywhere in the United States.
It is a state-recognized legal holiday in Louisiana, a locally observed closure day in parts of coastal Alabama and Mississippi, and a discretionary closure for private employers and most school districts within those regions.
Mardi Gras became a legal holiday in Louisiana under the Mardi Gras Act of 1875, passed by the Louisiana State Legislature, and the provision is codified today in Louisiana Revised Statutes §1:55.
State government offices, the state judiciary, and Louisiana district courts close statewide, including courts outside the New Orleans area.
The statute also designates Mardi Gras as a specific legal holiday for clerks-of-court offices in a long list of parishes. It allows individual municipalities to declare it a local holiday by ordinance.
Banks and financial institutions chartered under state law generally follow the Louisiana holiday schedule and close; national banks, which follow the Federal Reserve’s holiday calendar, are not required to.
Is Mardi Gras 2027 a Federal Holiday?
No. Mardi Gras is not one of the 11 holidays listed under 5 U.S. Code §6103, so federal agencies, federal courts, the IRS, and Social Security offices operate on a normal schedule nationwide, including in Louisiana, on Tuesday, February 9, 2027.
Is Mail Delivered on Mardi Gras Day 2027?
Mail delivery operates on a normal schedule on Mardi Gras Day 2027 because the United States Postal Service follows the federal holiday calendar rather than individual state holiday schedules.
USPS has previously adjusted retail-window hours and street-side collection routes along active New Orleans parade corridors during the days immediately surrounding Fat Tuesday, so localized service changes in the French Quarter and Central Business District are possible even though delivery itself continues.
Government-level closures are one part of the picture; the more consequential question for most households is which schools close, and for how long.
The table set below — organized by state and school type — is the fullest available consolidation of Louisiana, Alabama, and Mississippi Mardi Gras closures for the 2027 academic calendar.
Louisiana Public School Closures for Mardi Gras 2027 by Parish
| Parish / District | Closure Dates | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Jefferson Parish | February 5–12, 2027 | Full week plus the preceding Friday |
| Orleans Parish (NOLA-PS) | February 8–12, 2027 | Varies by charter school; most follow this window |
| St. Tammany Parish | February 8–12, 2027 | Full week |
| St. Bernard Parish | February 8–12, 2027 | Full week |
| Plaquemines Parish | February 8–12, 2027 | Full week |
| St. Charles Parish | February 8–12, 2027 | Full week |
| Tangipahoa Parish | February 8–12, 2027 | Full week |
| Terrebonne Parish | February 8–12, 2027 | Full week |
| Lafourche Parish | February 5–9, 2027 | Friday through Tuesday; classes resume Wednesday |
| Livingston Parish | February 8–12, 2027 | Full week |
| Vermilion Parish | February 8–12, 2027 | Full week |
| Lafayette Parish | February 8–15, 2027 | Includes Mardi Gras week and Presidents’ Day |
| East Baton Rouge Parish | February 8–10, 2027 | Monday through Wednesday |
| Ascension Parish | February 8–10, 2027 | Monday through Wednesday |
| Calcasieu Parish | February 8–10, 2027 | Monday through Wednesday |
| St. Landry Parish | February 8–10, 2027 | Monday through Wednesday (typical) |
| Iberia Parish | February 8–10, 2027 | Monday through Wednesday (typical) |
Alabama School Closures: Mobile and Baldwin Counties
| District | Closure Dates | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Mobile County | February 8–12, 2027 | Full week |
| Baldwin County | February 8–10, 2027 | Monday through Wednesday |
Mississippi Gulf Coast School Closures
| District | Closure Dates | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Harrison County | February 8–10, 2027 | Monday through Wednesday |
| Gulfport School District | February 8–10, 2027 | Monday through Wednesday |
| Biloxi Public Schools | February 8–11, 2027 | Monday through Thursday |
| Ocean Springs School District | February 8–12, 2027 | Full week |
| Pascagoula–Gautier School District | February 8–12, 2027 | Full week |
Private and Catholic School Closures
| School / System | Closure Dates | Region |
|---|---|---|
| Archdiocese of New Orleans | February 8–12, 2027 | Greater New Orleans |
| Jesuit High School | February 8–12, 2027 | New Orleans |
| Ursuline Academy | February 5–12, 2027 | New Orleans |
| Mount Carmel Academy | February 8–12, 2027 | New Orleans |
| Brother Martin High School | February 8–12, 2027 | New Orleans |
| Holy Name of Jesus | February 8–12, 2027 | New Orleans |
| Archdiocese of Mobile | February 8–10, 2027 | Mobile, Alabama |
College and University Closures
| Institution | Closure Dates | Location |
|---|---|---|
| Louisiana State University (LSU) | February 8–9, 2027 | Baton Rouge, Louisiana |
| Tulane University | February 8–9, 2027 | New Orleans, Louisiana |
| Loyola University New Orleans | February 8–9, 2027 | New Orleans, Louisiana |
| University of New Orleans (UNO) | February 8–9, 2027 | New Orleans, Louisiana |
| Xavier University of Louisiana | February 8–9, 2027 | New Orleans, Louisiana |
| University of South Alabama | February 8–9, 2027 | Mobile, Alabama |
| University of Louisiana at Lafayette | February 8–10, 2027 | Lafayette, Louisiana |
Dates above are based on approved 2026–2027 academic calendars as published as of August 2026. Families should confirm with individual schools or districts for any subsequent changes, including weather-related adjustments unrelated to Mardi Gras.
Mardi Gras 2027 Parade Schedule and Krewe Guide
The Mardi Gras 2027 parade schedule in New Orleans is organized around krewes — private membership organizations that fund and stage individual parades, each rolling on its own customary night in the two weeks before Fat Tuesday.
There is no single “Mardi Gras parade”; instead, dozens of krewes parade across roughly a dozen days, with the largest, best-attended processions concentrated in the final four days before February 9, 2027.
New Orleans Parade Routes: Uptown, French Quarter, and Westbank
Most major Uptown parades follow a route along St. Charles Avenue, moving from the Uptown residential area through the Central Business District before ending near Canal Street; this route is the standard path for super-krewes including Bacchus, Endymion (via Mid-City), and Orpheus.
The French Quarter itself is closed to vehicular parades under current city ordinance and functions primarily as a walking and balcony-viewing district rather than a parade route. Separate, smaller parades roll on the West Bank of the Mississippi River, including krewes based in Algiers.
Major Krewes: Comus, Rex, Zulu, Bacchus, Endymion, Muses, and Orpheus
| Krewe | Founded | Traditional Parade Timing | Signature Feature |
|---|---|---|---|
| Comus | 1857 | Historically Mardi Gras night; has not held a public parade since the early 1990s | Coined the term “krewe”; introduced the first King of Carnival figure |
| Rex | 1872 | Mardi Gras Day, Uptown route | “King of Carnival” title; introduced Mardi Gras doubloons in 1960 |
| Zulu Social Aid & Pleasure Club | First paraded 1909; incorporated 1916 | Mardi Gras Day morning | Hand-decorated coconut throws; New Orleans’ largest predominantly African American Carnival organization |
| Bacchus | 1968 (first parade 1969) | Sunday before Fat Tuesday | Celebrity monarch tradition; roughly 1,700 riders across 32 floats |
| Endymion | 1967 | Saturday before Fat Tuesday, Mid-City route | Motto “Throw ’til it Hurts”; one of three official super-krewes |
| Muses | 2000 (first parade 2001) | Thursday before Fat Tuesday (Jeudi Gras) | All-female membership (approximately 1,100 members); hand-decorated shoe throws |
| Orpheus | 1993 (first parade 1994) | Lundi Gras (Monday night) | Co-founded by musician Harry Connick Jr.; signature tambourine and medallion-bead throws |
Applying these customary weekday slots to the 2027 calendar produces the traditional-pattern dates already shown in the Carnival season timeline table above: Muses on Thursday, February 4; a super-krewe slate on Saturday, February 6, and Sunday, February 7; Orpheus on Lundi Gras, Monday, February 8; and Zulu and Rex on Fat Tuesday itself, Tuesday, February 9, 2027.
Family-Friendly Parades Versus Bourbon Street
Family-friendly viewing and adult-oriented viewing are geographically distinct in New Orleans, not simply a matter of time of day. The Uptown route along St. Charles Avenue draws families and is where children commonly bring ladders fitted with viewing boxes to catch throws at eye level with float riders.
Bourbon Street and the French Quarter, by contrast, host no vehicular parades and instead function as a pedestrian party district with a largely adult crowd, particularly after dark.
Louisiana law requires float riders to wear masks while on the float; it does not require or expect any exchange of exposure for beads, a misconception that circulates primarily in connection with the French Quarter’s late-night crowd rather than the daytime parade routes.
Where Else to Celebrate Mardi Gras: Mobile, Galveston, and St. Louis Compared
New Orleans is not the only Mardi Gras destination, and it is not the location of the first documented American Mardi Gras. Mobile, Alabama; Galveston, Texas; and St. Louis, Missouri, each host large annual Carnival celebrations with distinct histories, scale, and traditions.
| City | Founded | Estimated Attendance | Signature Feature |
|---|---|---|---|
| New Orleans, Louisiana | Celebrated informally since the 1730s; first organized parade in 1857 | Not consistently reported as a single figure across sources | Krewe system; St. Charles Avenue and French Quarter |
| Mobile, Alabama | 1703 (earliest organized U.S. celebration) | Reported around 1 million unique attendees across the season | Boeuf Gras tradition; Joe Cain Day |
| Galveston, Texas | Traced to an 1867 masked ball; revived in its current form in 1985 | Reported around 350,000–400,000 attendees | Historic Strand District parades |
| St. Louis, Missouri (Soulard) | 1979 | Estimate not consistently reported; commonly cited but disputed as “second-largest” | Purina Pet Parade; Bud Light Grand Parade |
Mobile, not New Orleans, hosts the earliest documented American Mardi Gras celebration, and Mobile and New Orleans are frequently compared, but the “second-largest Mardi Gras in the country” claim commonly made on behalf of St. Louis’s Soulard neighborhood does not hold up against independent attendance data.
A 2022 fact-check by KSDK-TV in St. Louis, corroborated by public historians at the Missouri Historical Society, found that Mobile and Pensacola, Florida, both report substantially higher attendance than Soulard, and that Soulard’s own organizers have stated they have never made the “second-largest” claim themselves. Galveston and St. Louis are more comparably sized to each other than either is to Mobile.
Mobile, Alabama: The Birthplace of American Mardi Gras
Mobile hosts the earliest documented Mardi Gras celebration in what is now the United States, dating to 1703 at the French settlement of Fort Louis de la Mobile.
In 1704, settlers formed the Masque de la Mobile, a secret society that functioned similarly to a modern krewe. The first organized Carnival parade in North America rolled down Dauphin Street in 1711, featuring a papier-mâché bull’s head — the “Boeuf Gras,” or fatted ox — pulled by 16 men, a tradition tied to the pre-Lenten “fatted calf” feast celebrated in France.
New Orleans’s Mardi Gras tradition, by comparison, was not adopted formally until 1718 and did not hold its first recorded parade until the Mistick Krewe of Comus in 1857.
Mobile’s Carnival tradition went dormant during the Civil War; a local citizen named Joe Cain revived it with an impromptu 1866 parade, an event still commemorated each year as Joe Cain Day, held the Sunday before Fat Tuesday.
Galveston, Texas Mardi Gras
Galveston’s Mardi Gras traces its origins to an 1867 masked ball and theatrical performance of King Henry IV, though the modern, large-scale celebration dates to a 1985 revival centered on the historic Strand Historic District.
The event reports roughly 350,000 to 400,000 attendees and includes more than 20 parades and 30 concerts across its run.
St. Louis, Missouri: Soulard Mardi Gras
Soulard Mardi Gras began in December 1979 when five friends organized a party to counter the winter season, an origin unconnected to St. Louis’s earlier French colonial history.
It has since grown to include the Beggin’ Pet Parade, described as the world’s largest parade of costumed pets, and the Bud Light Grand Parade held in the Soulard neighborhood.
Baton Rouge, Lafayette, and Other Louisiana Celebrations
Carnival is celebrated throughout Louisiana beyond New Orleans, including in Baton Rouge and Lafayette, both of which hold their own parade schedules and, per the school-closure table above, their own independent school-closure windows distinct from the New Orleans metro area.
What Is Mardi Gras? History, Meaning, and Traditions
Mardi Gras is French for “Fat Tuesday,” referring to the practice of consuming rich, fatty foods — most notably red meat — before the fasting restrictions of Lent begin the next day.
The term describes both the single day (Fat Tuesday) and, colloquially, the several-week Carnival season that precedes it.
Origins of Mardi Gras in Colonial Louisiana
Mardi Gras entered what is now the United States through French colonization of the Gulf Coast. On March 3, 1699, French-Canadian explorer Pierre Le Moyne d’Iberville and his crew made camp near the mouth of the Mississippi River on the eve of Fat Tuesday and named the location Pointe du Mardi Gras.
The first sustained American celebration followed in 1703 at Mobile.
The broader tradition traces further back to medieval Catholic Europe, where pre-Lenten feasting customs were established across France, Italy, Spain, and the German Catholic states before being carried across the Atlantic.
What Do the Mardi Gras Colors Mean?
Purple represents justice, green represents faith, and gold represents power. The three colors were selected in 1872 for the first Rex parade, reportedly to satisfy heraldic convention requiring both a metal (gold) and non-metal tones on a king’s coat of arms; their specific symbolic meanings were not assigned until 20 years later, during the 1892 Rex parade themed “Symbolism of Colors.”
A widely repeated story attributes the color choice to a visiting Russian Grand Duke, Alexei Alexandrovich Romanov, whose 1872 New Orleans visit coincided with Rex’s first parade; New Orleans historian Errol Flynn Laborde has found no contemporary newspaper evidence supporting that account.
Purple, green, and gold subsequently influenced the school colors of Louisiana State University and Tulane University, whose color choices are commonly, though not universally, traced to the same-season retail stock of Carnival-colored fabric in New Orleans in the early 1890s.
Mardi Gras Versus Carnival Versus Shrove Tuesday
Mardi Gras refers specifically to Fat Tuesday, the final day of the pre-Lenten season, while Carnival refers to the entire season leading up to it, beginning on Twelfth Night.
Shrove Tuesday and Pancake Day are alternate names for the identical calendar date in the English and broader Anglophone Christian tradition; the “shrove” root refers to the practice of being “shriven,” or absolved, through confession before Lent, while “Pancake Day” reflects the British and Irish custom of using up butter, eggs, and sugar in pancakes before the fast.
All three names — Mardi Gras, Shrove Tuesday, and Pancake Day — refer to the same date, Tuesday, February 9, 2027.
Planning a Trip to Mardi Gras 2027: Hotels, Travel, and Booking Windows
When to Book Hotels for Mardi Gras 2027
As of August 2026, Mardi Gras 2027 is fewer than six months away, placing hotel planning inside the active booking window rather than the early-planning phase.
New Orleans travel guidance consistently identifies the final pre-Fat-Tuesday stretch — Friday, February 5 through Tuesday, February 9, 2027 — as the period when parade-route hotel inventory tightens most and nightly rates reach their seasonal peak.
Because the 2027 Carnival season is compressed to 35 days between Twelfth Night and Fat Tuesday, the number of weekend parade nights available before the peak is smaller than in a later-Easter year, which concentrates demand into fewer dates rather than spreading it across a longer season.
Getting There: Flights, Amtrak Mardi Gras Service, and Parking
Travelers reaching the Gulf Coast for Mardi Gras 2027 have a rail option that did not exist for prior-generation Carnival guides: Amtrak’s Mardi Gras Service, a twice-daily passenger train that began operating on August 18, 2025, between New Orleans and Mobile, Alabama, with intermediate stops at Bay St. Louis, Gulfport, Biloxi, and Pascagoula, Mississippi.
The route covers 145 miles in approximately 3 hours and 43 minutes, with coach fares starting around $15 and Business Class starting around $59.
Ridership exceeded 100,000 passengers within roughly eight months of launch, ahead of an initial projection of 75,000 in the first year.
A connecting Greyhound/FlixBus service links Baton Rouge to the New Orleans terminal on a single ticket, and Amtrak and regional transportation officials have stated an intention to extend direct rail service further west to Baton Rouge.
Driving into New Orleans during Carnival week requires accounting for street closures along the parade routes; downtown and Uptown parking near St. Charles Avenue becomes substantially restricted on parade days.
Mardi Gras Cruises: The Carnival Mardi Gras Ship
The Carnival Mardi Gras is an Excel-class ship carrying more than 6,400 guests, but it does not sail from New Orleans; its homeport is Port Canaveral, Florida.
Beginning in the 2027–28 season, it becomes the first Excel-class ship to offer short 4- to 5-day itineraries in addition to its standard longer Caribbean sailings, a shift Carnival Cruise Line announced in August 2025.
Travelers searching for a Mardi Gras–branded cruise departing from Louisiana should note this distinction, since the ship’s name refers to the holiday rather than its departure city.
What to Wear to Mardi Gras: Outfits, Masks, and Throws
Outfit Ideas by Category
Purple, green, and gold form the base color palette for most Mardi Gras attire, worn as full costumes, accessory-based outfits, or simple color-coordinated clothing depending on the wearer’s intended level of participation.
Louisiana law requires float riders specifically to wear masks while on their floats; spectators are not legally required to mask but commonly do so as part of the visual tradition.
February weather in New Orleans averages a daytime high near 64°F (18°C) and an overnight low near 52°F (11°C), with roughly 9 to 12 rainy days across the month, conditions that typically call for layered clothing rather than heavy winter outerwear.
Masks, Beads, Doubloons, and Throws Explained
“Throws” is the collective term for items krewe members toss to the crowd from floats, and different krewes are associated with different signature throws: Rex introduced the collectible metal doubloon in 1960, Zulu is known for hand-decorated coconuts, and Muses is known for hand-decorated shoes. Standard plastic bead necklaces remain the most common throw across nearly all parades.
Catching throws does not require any specific behavior beyond raising a hand or a bag; the flashing-for-beads association is tied specifically to the late-night, adult-oriented Bourbon Street crowd and is not a practice associated with daytime family parade routes such as St. Charles Avenue.
Mardi Gras Food and King Cake Traditions
King Cake History, Composition, and the Hidden Baby
A king cake is a ring-shaped, cinnamon-brioche-style pastry topped with icing and sugar in the traditional purple, green, and gold pattern, tied to the Feast of the Epiphany that opens Carnival season on January 6.
A small plastic baby figurine is baked into or inserted underneath the cake, and, by widespread New Orleans tradition, whoever receives the slice containing the baby is expected to host the next king cake party or provide the next cake, a custom that keeps the pastry circulating through Carnival season until Mardi Gras Day.
Classic Mardi Gras Foods and Drinks
Beyond king cake, foods commonly associated with Mardi Gras include gumbo, jambalaya, and beignets, reflecting Louisiana’s broader Creole and Cajun culinary traditions rather than being specific to Fat Tuesday itself.
The Hurricane, a rum-based mixed drink associated with the French Quarter’s Pat O’Brien’s bar, is a commonly cited Carnival-season drink, alongside the local Carnival-season phrase laissez les bons temps rouler (“let the good times roll”).
Mardi Gras 2027 for Families and First-Timers
Is Mardi Gras Safe for Children?
Mardi Gras is broadly considered appropriate for children when families choose family-oriented viewing locations, primarily the Uptown route along St. Charles Avenue, and avoid the French Quarter and Bourbon Street after dark, where crowd density and alcohol consumption increase substantially.
Many New Orleans families construct or rent purpose-built “ladder stands” — a stepladder fitted with a small viewing platform and safety harness — allowing a child to sit above the crowd at a height visible to float riders, which increases both visibility and the likelihood of catching throws directed toward children.
First-Timer Etiquette and Bead-Catching Rules
Mardi Gras is a season, not a single day, and a common point of confusion for visitors is planning a trip only around Fat Tuesday itself without accounting for the parades in the preceding one to two weeks.
First-time attendees should arrive with a physical bag for collecting throws, expect that raising a hand or a bag is sufficient to attract a throw from float riders, and understand that flashing for beads is neither required nor expected on family-oriented parade routes.
Regional pride disputes — particularly between New Orleans and Mobile over which city hosted Mardi Gras first — are a well-documented, good-natured feature of Gulf Coast Carnival culture rather than a matter of factual ambiguity, given Mobile’s earlier documented 1703 celebration.
Frequently Asked Questions About Mardi Gras 2027
When is Mardi Gras 2027?
Mardi Gras 2027 is Tuesday, February 9, 2027, 47 days before Easter Sunday, March 28, 2027.
Is Mardi Gras 2027 a federal holiday?
No. Mardi Gras is not on the federal holiday list under 5 U.S. Code §6103. It is a Louisiana state legal holiday under the Mardi Gras Act of 1875.
Why is Mardi Gras so early in 2027?
Mardi Gras is always 47 days before Easter, and Easter 2027 falls on March 28 — near the earlier end of Easter’s possible March 22–April 25 range — which places Fat Tuesday on February 9 rather than in late February or March.
What day do Louisiana schools close for Mardi Gras 2027?
Closure dates vary by parish. Most Louisiana parishes close from Monday, February 8 through at least Wednesday, February 10, 2027, with several — including Jefferson, Orleans, St. Tammany, and Lafayette Parishes — closing for a longer stretch. See the parish-by-parish table above for exact dates.
Is mail delivered on Mardi Gras Day 2027?
Yes. USPS follows the federal holiday schedule rather than state holidays, so mail delivery continues on Tuesday, February 9, 2027, though some retail counters and street-side collection along active parade routes may see temporary service changes.
What is the difference between Mardi Gras and Carnival?
Mardi Gras refers specifically to Fat Tuesday, the final day of the season. Carnival refers to the full season leading up to it, beginning on Twelfth Night, January 6.
Where is the best place to celebrate Mardi Gras outside New Orleans?
Mobile, Alabama; Galveston, Texas; and St. Louis, Missouri (Soulard) each host large, independently organized Mardi Gras celebrations, with Mobile reporting the highest estimated attendance of the three and holding the earliest documented American Mardi Gras history, dating to 1703.
This guide is designed to connect to dedicated cluster pages as they are published, including a full 2027 parade schedule and route map, a king cake recipe and history deep-dive, a Mardi Gras outfit and costume guide, and a direct New Orleans vs. Mobile vs. Galveston vs. St. Louis comparison page.
