The Krewe of Rex first introduced this particular scheme in 1872, but it wasn't until twenty years later that the meaning of each color was revealed. The theme of Rex's 1982 parade was "Symbolism of Colors," which helped to establish the tradition of decorating for the season with green, gold and purple. According to Rex's interpretation, purple represented justice, green was symbolic of faith and gold represented power.

Today the Mardi Gras colors are so much a symbol of the season that they adorn banners, clothing, costumes, masks, beads, and even constitute the many colors of sugar sprinkled on every king cake.