Mardi gras, or carnival, has been celebrated in Paris since the middle ages as a last hurrah before the six-week fasting season of Lent. Feasting on fatty foods and dressing up in elaborate costumes has been an integral part of the festivities, even when it lasted for several days leading up to Ash Wednesday.

These days, the Parisian carnival is jolly street-bound jamboree that unites people of different cultures in a shared spirit of fun through dance, song, and elaborate costumes. The fiesty and fantastic display of exuberance is spearated into two main events: the walk of masks and the processions. Eccentric masks, cross-dressing and other forms of disguise are the hallmarks of the former, while the later sees a cheerful parade of floats filled with dancing people in sparkly outfits. The procession, also known as Promenade du Boeuf Gras (Fat Cow Parade) is traditionally led by a fat cow that revives the carnivals' 16th-century traditions. It travels across the scenic streets of Paris, winding its way from Place Gambetta to the Hotel de Ville (Town Hall). As a side attraction to this comical parade, there's a 'boucher de careme' or 'head butcher' content in which the city's top butchers show off their biggest and fattest cow. Once the beefiest and most beautiful cow is selected, it is festooned in flowers and paraded around the city by its butcher so that all can meet and marvel in his moooo-ving qualities.