What Mardi Gras is

Shrove Tuesday, the last day before Lent, celebrated as Carnival in New Orleans, Rio de Janeiro, Venice and Cologne, and as pancake day in Britain.

The point is the same everywhere: use up the rich food in the house before forty days of fasting begin.

How this date is calculated from Easter

The countdown at the top of this page is live, and the date beneath it is the next occurrence. The date is counted from Easter Sunday, which is itself the first Sunday after the first full moon on or after the March equinox. Easter can fall anywhere between 22 March and 25 April, and everything anchored to it moves with it.

The date is computed from the standard Western (Gregorian) Easter calculation. Churches following the Julian calendar keep Easter on a different date in most years, so an Orthodox observance will not match the date shown here.

What is coming up next

Once this date passes, the countdown moves on according to the recurrence rule described above. Calculated lunar dates remain estimates until the relevant calendar or local authority confirms them. See the full list of upcoming events, or use the countdown timer for a duration of your own.