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.
These days, Mardi Gras in New Orleans â which falls on Feb. 17 this year â is a party for all. But, not that long ago, Mardi Gras celebrations were more exclusive affairs. As TIME reported in the Feb. 9, 1948, issue, balls and âkrewesâ were for the cityâs elites only, and that situation lasted for decades after the first Mardi Gras parade was held in the 1850s.