Mardi Gras is the single largest celebration in New Orleans. It’s also celebrated around the world, making it one of the most popular global festivals. In most cities, beads are thrown to participants along the parade route. They’re used as rewards and incentives to get into the spirit of celebration and then worn as badges of honor by attendees. Of course, there is a very wide range of beads used in Mardi Gras, and knowing which ones are used can help ensure that you’re able to outfit your krewes appropriately.
Standard Beads: Standard beads are the most commonly used. These are small to medium in size and are usually faceted to reflect a little bit of light. The strings are usually uniform in color, and you’ll find them in all colors the rainbow. Usually, necklaces come in just one size (one size fits all).
Metallic: Metallic beads are also very popular. These are usually the same size as standard beads, but they offer a bit more glitter and glitz. There are two ways these can be made. They might feature a metallic paint color, such as gold, silver or copper, or they could use two layers of paint – with a non-metallic color over the metallic paint.
Translucent: While rarer than standard and metallic beads, you will find some translucent beads out there. These made from semi-transparent plastic and are usually not painted at all. However, some may have a light coating of glitter applied to help them sparkle and shine while being worn. Interestingly, these are probably the closest thing to the original beads used to celebrate Mardi Gras back in the late 1800s, which were strings of cheap glass beads.
Big Beads: Big beads are becoming more and more popular today. These range in size from 30 mm all the way up to several inches in diameter. You’ll also find these available in combinations that include small, medium and very large beads, as well as a host of color combinations. Purple, green and gold is one popular combination when you buy big beads online, but you can find pearl beads, rainbow-colored beads, red and black big beads and more.
You can buy big beads online, and you’ll find that the right Internet retailer can also supply you with virtually any other type of Mardi Gras beads you need for your celebration, whether you’re having a private party, or supply krewes for a city-wide celebration.
