Skip to main content Ayala: 'Keep the party, lose the war' - it's time to separate Fiesta from a painful history FacebookTwitterEmail The wreath-bearing procession at the Alamo features historic, civic, military and school groupsand a roll call of the Alamo battle dead is read on Monday, April 23, 2018.Ronald Cortes, for the San Antonio Express News Festivals tell us so much about ourselves. Their origins and histories explain who created them, why and where. Mardi Gras, French for “Fat Tuesday,” can be traced to post-Lenten festivals of medieval Europe. The Kutztown Folk Festival in Pennsylvania celebrates the state’s German culture.