This Day in History:, New Orleanians Take to <br />the Streets for Mardi Gras.<br />February 27, 1827.<br />Groups of masked students <br />danced in the streets, <br />marking the beginnings of the <br />city's Mardi Gras celebrations.<br />The Mardi Gras celebration <br />was brought to the region by French <br />settlers towards the end of the 1600s.<br />By the time students in <br />New Orleans danced in the <br />streets in costumes and masks.<br />the celebration of Carnival <br />had been popular in Mobile, AL, <br />for more than 100 years.<br />The New Orleans student<br />celebrations were inspired by their Paris studies.<br />Within five years, a French plantation <br />owner had begun raising money <br />to fund the celebration.<br />The first fully organized <br />Mardi Gras occurred in 1857
