Well, it's Mardi Gras time again. When I first moved here (going on 6 years now!), the reality of Mardi Gras was the biggest revelation to this uninformed Yankee. I was curious about the colorful customs and fascinated by how entrenched Mardi Gras tradtitions are in Louisiana culture.

Here is a post from January 2010, when I was still a bit more wide-eyed over the concept. Amy is a reader from Pittsburgh who had asked me to explain Mardi Gras to her. Northerners truly have no inkling of the magnitude of Mardi Gras in Louisiana. Even though I am surrounded by it and am now accustomed to it, I have not embraced it. Honestly, it would exhaust me. And I don't wear high heels. But I do have a purple, green, and gold wreath on my front door.