Mardi Gras is on Fat Tuesday, the day before Ash Wednesday, a big party before Lent begins. It began, I believe, as an Acadian tradition in rural parts of Louisiana and also Alabama.
At the heart of the Mardi Gras tradition are krewes, essentially social clubs, who each hold their own parade during the six week Mardi Gras season. They throw trinkets from their parades -- "throws." A popular throw is beads.
New Orleans being what it is, and Bourbon Street being what it is, it is a big excuse for drunken partiers and tourists. The way it works is that if you flash your tits, the partiers on the floats/balconies will throw you beads.
(It's not part of the original tradition and public nudity is illegal in New Orleans.)
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nerdy perspective
Date: 2010-01-31 07:35 am (UTC)At the heart of the Mardi Gras tradition are krewes, essentially social clubs, who each hold their own parade during the six week Mardi Gras season. They throw trinkets from their parades -- "throws." A popular throw is beads.
New Orleans being what it is, and Bourbon Street being what it is, it is a big excuse for drunken partiers and tourists. The way it works is that if you flash your tits, the partiers on the floats/balconies will throw you beads.
(It's not part of the original tradition and public nudity is illegal in New Orleans.)