After years of stagnant wage growth, rising living costs people in England and Wales have an average of just Â£7,780 in savings, according to figures from Halifax. Rising costs: The average cost of a funeral as risen by 80 per cent since 2004.
The first Mardi Gras festivities in Louisiana were held on March 3, 1699. On that day, a group of French explorers set up camp on the west bank of the Mississippi River, about 60 miles downriver from what is now New Orleans.
1837 - First Mardi Gras parade in New Orleans. 1857 - First time floats appear in the parades. Festivities have been canceled 13 times before, most often during war-time. Mobile, Alabama, was the first place in the United States to celebrate Mardi Gras, and now holds the second largest celebration after New Orleans.