Ark-La-Tex (KMSS) — Like much of history, Mardi Gras is ever evolving. It started out as a religious holiday, and now it's much more than that.

Mardi Gras is French for fat Tuesday, otherwise known as the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday. It's a time for Louisiana to celebrate before Lent, and celebrate they do.

But how do the beads and floats fit in?

During the time of Carnival in New Orleans, people were celebrating in the streets, but had trouble walking down the narrow streets. They used wagons and pull carts to make it throught the tight quarters. Those wagon have evolved into the floats that parades have now.

Here in the Arklatex, Mardi Gras has changed even more, choosing to add local flavor, like they do in Minden. In the German town on Minden, Mardi Gras is combined with the German celebration of Fasching, so people can celebrate both cultures.

For people on the parade route, it doesn't really matter what they're celebrating, as long as they're with friends and family.

How do you celebrate Mardi Gras?