Today is the French holiday Mardi Gras which literally means ‘Fat Tuesday’. It is the last day of Carnival celebrations before Ash Wednesday and the beginning of the Catholic fasting season of Lent. It is celebrated in many countries with lavish parades, music, dancing, costumes, parties, craziness and more. The French-speaking countries that celebrate it include Belgium where the Carnival of Binche has been proclaimed one of the Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO. In France, the Nice Carnival and Mardi Gras are particularly impressive with balls, masquerades, bonfires, jugglers, mimes, flower-covered floats and night-time light displays. Mardi Gras is also celebrated in Guadeloupe, Martinique and Guyane. And the Carnival of Paris has inspired music, operas, theater productions, books, films and works of art including Carnaval boulevard des Capucines by Claude Monet.
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