The above
writeup is a good
introduction into this fantastic
holiday, found at the end of the
Carnival season. One detail it does
neglect, however, is just
when exactly
Mardi Gras is held.
In the spirit of Noding For The Ages, and in order to facilitate your future planning needs, I've compiled a list of future Mardi Gras dates below. To determine the date of Mardi Gras, you must first determine the date of Easter Sunday. Easter Sunday falls on the first Sunday after the first full moon following the Spring Equinox. It can be anywhere from March 23 to April 25. Mardi Gras, always the day before Ash Wednesday, falls 47 days prior to Easter (40 days of Lent + 7 Sundays). This means Mardi Gras can fall on any Tuesday between February 3 and March 9.
Year - Date Of Mardi Gras | Year - Date of Mardi Gras
+-----------------------------------------+
| 2001 - February 27 | 2026 - February 17 |
| 2002 - February 12 | 2027 - February 9 |
| 2003 - March 4 | 2028 - February 28 |
| 2004 - February 24 | 2029 - February 13 |
| 2005 - February 8 | 2030 - March 5 |
| 2006 - February 28 | 2031 - February 25 |
| 2007 - February 20 | 2032 - February 10 |
| 2008 - February 5 | 2033 - March 1 |
| 2009 - February 24 | 2034 - February 21 |
| 2010 - February 16 | 2035 - February 6 |
| 2011 - March 8 | 2036 - February 26 |
| 2012 - February 21 | 2037 - February 17 |
| 2013 - February 12 | 2038 - March 9 |
| 2014 - March 4 | 2039 - February 22 |
| 2015 - February 17 | 2040 - February 14 |
| 2016 - February 9 | 2041 - March 5 |
| 2017 - February 26 | 2042 - February 18 |
| 2018 - February 13 | 2043 - February 10 |
| 2019 - March 5 | 2044 - March 1 |
| 2020 - February 25 | 2045 - February 21 |
| 2021 - February 16 | 2046 - February 6 |
| 2022 - March 1 | 2047 - February 26 |
| 2023 - February 21 | 2048 - February 18 |
| 2024 - February 13 | 2049 - March 2 |
| 2025 - March 4 | 2050 - February 22 |
+-----------------------------------------+
Mid-
February Mardi Gras celebrations often inspire
Valentine's Day-esque
float themes and heart-shaped
decorations. Years when
Mardi Gras falls in
March mean that the weather will generally be a bit
warmer, especially at night. Also, knowing which
week/
weekends to book good
hotel rooms (if you're a
tourist) well in advance can be useful. If you're a
local (to whichever city is under consideration, typically
New Orleans,
Louisiana,
USA, though
Rio de Janeiro,
Brazil has larger celebrations), you can block off weeks on your calendar when you'll be unable to accomplish much of anything due to the
throngs of
irritating drunken tourists. Of course, if you're local, you won't need this chart, but that's beside the point.
Regardless, it just seemed that this information was begging for inclusion in The Database. Enjoy.