In New Orleans Mardi Gras colors, purple symbolizes justice.
The traditional New Orleans Mardi Gras palette is purple, green, and gold. Purple represents justice, green represents faith, and gold represents power. These meanings are tied to Rex, the New Orleans krewe that established the color tradition and helped shape the city’s modern Carnival identity.
Rex selected purple, green, and gold for its 1872 parade season. The symbolic meanings were prominently associated with a Rex parade titled “Symbolism of Colors” in 1892. Today the colors appear on parade throws, costumes, flags, king cakes, decorations, and beads throughout Carnival season.
Mardi Gras is the culmination of the wider Carnival season and falls on the day before Ash Wednesday, although the season begins much earlier. New Orleans celebrations also include numerous krewes, masked balls, marching bands, floats, and throws such as beads and doubloons.
A common mistake is to swap the meanings of purple and gold: purple is justice, while gold is power. Green is the remaining traditional color and stands for faith.