Mardi Gras - Fat Tuesday

Mardi Gras literally translated from French means Fat Tuesday. Personally, I can feel fat on any day, not just a Tuesday. (very small joke).

The pictures of New Orleans Mardi Gras are so colorful and festive. There is a small part of me (not the fat part) that would love to be a part of it all. All that makes it inviting, the crowds, alcohol, no sleep, and parties could be extremely overwhelming, but just once I may try it. New Orleans is a wonderful city without Mardi Gras. Back in 2005 before Katrina, Neptune and I vacationed there and had a blast.

Now back to Mardi Gras and another February holiday. New Orleans was settled by many French Catholics. The day after Fat Tuesday is Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent. For Catholics, Lent means approximately 40 days until Easter. To prepare for the significant Easter holiday, Catholics would follow a fast during Lent. Being in America and urbanized, modern day Catholics cannot go into the desert and completely fast for 40 days. If I remember correctly from my Catholic school days, there were some very strict fasting rules to abide. One was not allowed to consume meat for 40 days. Now a days, things have loosened up quite a bit.

As a child in Catholic school, we did not have to follow the strict fasting rules. We were children. So, on each and every Ash Wednesday, the nuns would quiz each and everyone of us what we were personally going to give up during Lent. Believe it or not, most of us said we were going to give up candy (big surprise!). That was until lunch hour or after school. On the corner was the neighborhood store owned by the DiMartino's, which we affectionately called Mr. D's. This store had an actually penny candy counter, single bottles of pop in a cooler, donuts, sweets, Italian ice, etc. Everything a 1960's child ate. We had quickly forgotten our vow to fast from candy.

The adults were not much better. Every Sunday and during Lent as well, my grandmother, Blanche, sat near the rear door during Mass. She needed to leave a few seconds early to trot over to Mr. D's to buy two pounds of deli Polish ham sliced thin and other deli products for lunches during the week ahead. Isn't deli ham meat?

So instead of giving something up for Lent, why don't we try to do something special for 40 days? Maybe someone would choose to meditate for five to ten minutes for 40 days. Maybe someone could display one act of kindness each day for 40 days (but you cannot brag about it.). Lent does not need to be so deary, it could be a more thoughtful time. But we will always have a need for Mardi Gras. I just love a good party!

MOM