A swirl of color, music, costumes, and crowds, Mardi Gras is the last day before the start of Lent. This year it falls on February 21, 2012.  Each of the countries that celebrates Mardi Gras does it in an inimitable way, blending its culture and traditions into the event's parades and revelry. In many places Mardi Gras (literally "Fat Tuesday") is part of an extended celebration known as Carnival.