New Orleans nurses Fat Tuesday hangover

NEW ORLEANS, Feb. 22 (UPI) -- New Orleans partied into the early hours, soaking up the last bit of Fat Tuesday's Mardi Gras depravity before the deprivations of Lent set in, observers said.

Some said this year's Fat Tuesday festivities, which drew an estimated 1 million revelers, may have been the largest since Hurricane Katrina ravaged the Crescent City in 2005, CBS News reported Wednesday.

The end of Mardi Gras signifies the beginning of Lent, the period of Christian fasting and repentance before Easter.

Heavy rain delayed weekend parades but huge crowds basked in warm sunshine Tuesday as they packed parade routes across the city, The (New Orleans) Times-Picayune reported. Crowds were reported to be well-behaved, with the exception of a double shooting along the Uptown parade route last Thursday.

A recent study by Tulane University economics professor Toni Weiss estimated the economic impact of last year's Mardi Gras festivities at $144.1 million and an indirect impact of $300.7 million, the newspaper said.