The greatest free show on earth
Mardi Gras — FAT TUESDAY — fills NEW ORLEANS with music and colour, and this word search gathers the fun. You'll track down the icons — the strings of BEADS, the elaborate MASK and MASQUERADE, the towering PARADE FLOAT, and the official KREWE that organises it all.
Each puzzle pulls a fresh selection from the list, so the parade changes every time you play — gentle on Easy, and a Hard-mode challenge once the diagonals and backwards words appear.
Colour, beads and king cake
Mardi Gras has its own traditions, and they're here. The colours are PURPLE, GREEN and GOLD; the krewes THROW BEADS and a DOUBLOON coin to the crowd; and everyone shares a slice of KING CAKE. There's the masked JESTER, the FEATHERS and COSTUME, the MARCHING bands and JAZZ along BOURBON Street, and pure FESTIVE REVELRY everywhere you look.
Why it's called Fat Tuesday
'Mardi Gras' is French for FAT TUESDAY, and the name explains the whole party. It falls the day before Ash Wednesday, the start of the Christian season of Lent, when many people give up rich foods. So Fat Tuesday became the last big chance to feast and celebrate — using up all the eggs, butter and sugar in the house — before six weeks of going without.
The most famous celebration is in NEW ORLEANS, where clubs called krewes spend all year building elaborate floats and THROW strings of BEADS and shiny DOUBLOON coins to the crowds. Even the three official colours carry meaning, chosen long ago to stand for justice (PURPLE), faith (GREEN) and power (GOLD). Hidden in every KING CAKE is a tiny baby figurine — whoever finds it is said to have good luck and hosts the next party.
Great for a world-cultures topic
It pairs perfectly with a lesson on New Orleans, carnival or Christian traditions — Easy mode keeps the grid small with no diagonals or reverse words. Play online, print a PDF pack, or use our Make Your Own tool to build a grid from your own carnival words.
Frequently asked questions
What's in the Mardi Gras word search?
The New Orleans carnival — beads, masks, floats and king cake, plus the krewes, the purple-green-and-gold colours and Fat Tuesday itself. Each puzzle uses a fresh mix.
What are the Mardi Gras colours?
PURPLE, GREEN and GOLD — all hidden in the grid, along with the BEADS, MASKS and FLOATS the krewes THROW to the New Orleans crowd.
Is it good for a cultures topic?
Great fit — pair it with a lesson on New Orleans or carnival traditions. Easy mode keeps the grid small with no diagonals or reverse words.