Where to Buy Mardi Gras Beads Online

Now that the holiday season is coming to an end Mardi Gras is right around the corner which means Mardi Gras beads. Having never been to New Orleans where the biggest Mardi Gras party takes place and having never celebrated Mardi Gras I always wondered what it was and why Mardi Gras bead were such a big deal. In researching places on the internet to purchase Mardi Gras beads I decided to take a few moments and learn about Mardi Gras.

The celebration was brought to American in 1699 by French settlers and has its roots in Catholicism. The time between 12^th Night, which occurs on January 5 and marks the end of the 12 Days of Christmas, and Ash Wednesday is known as Carnival. This is a time of parties and parades. Mardi Gras, also known as Fat Tuesday, is the last day of these festivities and is used as a day of overindulgence before Ash Wednesday marks the sober weeks of fasting that leads to Lent.

The traditional colors of purple for justice, green for faith and gold for power, dates back to 1872 when the Grand Duke Alexis Romanoff Alexanderovitch of Russia was grand marshal of the traditional parade and chose the colors of the House of Romanov.

The ever popular stings of beads that have come to almost symbolize the festival are the most popular item that is thrown from the parade routes by the 60 participating krewes, or groups, since the 1920s when the Rex Krewe threw out the first inexpensive beaded necklaces. Today it's nothing for the krewes to spend between $800 and $2500 on beads and other Mardi Gras trinkets to distribute during the parades making Mardi Gras "throws" a multimillion dollar industry.

So, where does one find Mardi Gras beads on the net? A Google search turns up over 900,000 sites for Mardi Gras beads. So, where are the best places to buy them from? That depends on what you are looking for.