Mardi Gras dates, 2026–2035
Fat Tuesday 2027 is Tuesday 9 February 2027. Mardi Gras is always the Tuesday 47 days before Easter Sunday, so it moves every year between 3 February and 9 March.
Days to Fat Tuesday 2027
100 days
Tuesday 9 February 2027
Every Fat Tuesday to 2035
| Year | Fat Tuesday | Carnival season from 6 January | Endymion Saturday usual slot | Ash Wednesday | Easter Sunday | Checked against |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Tue 17 Feb | 42 days | 14 Feb | 18 Feb | 5 Apr | 3 Mardi Gras tables, 2 Easter tables ✓ |
| 2027 | Tue 9 Feb | 34 days | 6 Feb | 10 Feb | 28 Mar | 4 Mardi Gras tables, 2 Easter tables ✓ |
| 2028 | Tue 29 Feb | 54 days | 26 Feb | 1 Mar | 16 Apr | 4 Mardi Gras tables, 2 Easter tables ✓ |
| 2029 | Tue 13 Feb | 38 days | 10 Feb | 14 Feb | 1 Apr | 3 Mardi Gras tables, 2 Easter tables ✓ |
| 2030 | Tue 5 Mar | 58 days | 2 Mar | 6 Mar | 21 Apr | 3 Mardi Gras tables, 2 Easter tables ✓ |
| 2031 | Tue 25 Feb | 50 days | 22 Feb | 26 Feb | 13 Apr | 3 Mardi Gras tables, 2 Easter tables ✓ |
| 2032 | Tue 10 Feb | 35 days | 7 Feb | 11 Feb | 28 Mar | 2 Mardi Gras tables, 2 Easter tables ✓ |
| 2033 | Tue 1 Mar | 54 days | 26 Feb | 2 Mar | 17 Apr | 2 Mardi Gras tables, 2 Easter tables ✓ |
| 2034 | Tue 21 Feb | 46 days | 18 Feb | 22 Feb | 9 Apr | 2 Mardi Gras tables, 2 Easter tables ✓ |
| 2035 | Tue 6 Feb | 31 days | 3 Feb | 7 Feb | 25 Mar | 2 Mardi Gras tables, 2 Easter tables ✓ |
Computed with the standard Gregorian Easter algorithm, then checked year by year against independent published tables (see methodology). Every date agreed.
Why the date moves
Easter falls on the first Sunday after the church's full moon on or after 21 March, which puts it between 22 March and 25 April. Lent is the 40 days before Easter, not counting Sundays, so it starts on Ash Wednesday, 46 days before Easter. Mardi Gras is the day before: the last day to feast before the fast.
Carnival always starts on the same day, Twelfth Night (6 January), so the length of the season swings with Easter. In the years shown here it runs from 31 days to 58 days. A short season packs the parade calendar; a long one gives more weekends of king cake and smaller parades.
Is Mardi Gras a holiday?
Yes, in New Orleans. Mardi Gras Day is on the City of New Orleans's official holiday list, and many businesses close. Lundi Gras, the Monday, is not a city holiday.
Mardi Gras week, 2027, day by day
The big parades are concentrated in the last twelve days. Dates below are the krewes' usual slots for 2027 Usual pattern, not announced; the City Council confirms the line-up each season.
- Fri 29 Jan Cleopatra
- Sat 30 Jan Pontchartrain
- Wed 3 Feb Alla
- Thu 4 Feb Muses, Babylon, Chaos
- Fri 5 Feb Hermes, d'Etat, Morpheus
- Sat 6 Feb Endymion, Iris, Tucks · Endymion Saturday
- Sun 7 Feb Bacchus, Thoth, Okeanos, Mid-City
- Mon 8 Feb Orpheus, Proteus Lundi Gras
- Tue 9 Feb Zulu, Rex Mardi Gras Day
On Mardi Gras Day itself Zulu rolls first, at about 8 a.m., then Rex, followed by long lines of truck parades. Walking clubs, Black Masking Indians and costumed revellers fill the Tremé, Marigny and French Quarter. Carnival ends at midnight, when police clear Bourbon Street, and Ash Wednesday begins.
Purple, green and gold
The Carnival colours appeared with Rex's first parade in 1872. Their meanings came twenty years later, from the 1892 Rex parade "Symbolism of Colors": purple for justice, green for faith and gold for power. They are everywhere from Twelfth Night on, including on the king cake, the ring of brioche-like pastry eaten all season with a small plastic baby hidden inside.