Each year, Mardi Gras, or "Shrove" or "Fat Tuesday," is celebrated on the last day of Carnival, the festive season that precedes Lent. In New Orleans, the day is celebrated with parades, organized by social clubs known as krewes, where float riders traditionally toss “throws,” strings of colorful beads, cups or doubloons, into the crowds along the parade routes.

Members of the Skeleton Krewe march through the French Quarter during Mardi Gras celebrations in New Orleans, Feb. 13, 2018.
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