Mardi Gras Feb. 13, 2024

Mardi Gras

Get ready to revel, because Mardi Gras is here! Also called Fat Tuesday or Shrove Tuesday, the holiday was originally celebrated to live life to the fullest before fasting and giving up other indulgences for Lent—though many modern celebrators are just happy to use the occasion as an excuse to party. Fat Tuesday celebrations take place in cities and countries around the world, particularly those with French influence, due to the settlers that brought the custom. Out of these places, New Orleans has become intrinsically linked with the festival thanks to its massive four-to-eight-week-long celebration.

© Erik Pronske Photography/Getty Images

palette

Today in History

Fly me to the moon
Feb. 13, 2025Lake Tyrrell, Victoria, Australia
Feb. 13, 2026Third Thai-Lao Friendship Bridge connecting Laos and Thailand

More Desktop Wallpapers:

Feb. 25, 2025Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah, United States
May 14, 2025Porto Flavia, Sulcis-Iglesiente, Sardinia, Italy
Shades of Fall
Jun. 23, 2024Dhaka, Bangladesh
The road less taken?
Feb. 3, 2024Carnival of Venice
Oct. 11, 2025World Migratory Bird Day
Nov. 9, 2025Carl Sagan Day
Fresh finds in Fraser Valley
Dec. 31, 2024New Years Eve in Ottawa
Sep. 6, 2023Rethymno, Crete, Greece
Jul. 3, 2024World Meerkat Day
Aug. 30, 2024International Whale Shark Day
Jun. 25, 2025Glastonbury Festival begins
Sep. 13, 2025Point Reyes National Seashore, California, United States
Feb. 8, 2026Corfu at night, Greece
Oct 24, 2026Royal Portuguese Cabinet of Reading, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Feb. 7, 2025Blue hour in Trondheim, Norway
May 29, 2025Miravet, Catalonia, Spain
Jun. 27, 2025Splendid leaf frog
Sep. 4, 2025The 50th Toronto International Film Festival
Apr. 27, 2024Leucistic Annas Hummingbird, California, USA
Where did you drop the fish, son?
Blurring the lines with wearable art
May 7, 2024A duckling swimming in a water meadow, Suffolk, England
Aug 27, 2026World Lake Day
Jan. 21, 2024Eurasian red squirrel, Netherlands
Mar. 5, 2026Evening over Göreme, Cappadocia, Türkiye
A fox in the dunes
A bevy of buzzers