Mardi Gras 2011

Mardi Gras 2011

Mardi Gras 2011

I like The EllenShow tweet of the day: "Happy Mardi Gras! Will you throw me some beads if I show you my tweets?" Then there is George Takei's tweet. He thinks Mardi Gras is mostly an excuse for all of us to act like Charlie Sheen. In case you're wondering, George Takei is best known for his portrayal of Mr. Sulu in the acclaimed television and film series Star Trek. He is also recognized as a regular guest on the Howard Stern Show.

Fat Tuesday, March 8, marks the wind down of the five day Mardi Gras meltdown in New Orleans. Before the Catholic holiday of Lent, in which worshipers fast and repent for 40 days, people do their best to make up for the days of restraint with jam packed days of plenty. Festivals are observed all over the world, such as Carnival in Brazil, but it's never been so associated with a city's identity as it has with New Orleans.

Music is loud and brassy and costumes rule. The food is the king cake, a gooey, butter-rich cake with a hidden baby Jesus tucked inside. Come Wednesday though, things won't be quite so easy in the Big E, as trash will line the streets, beads will swing from tree branches, and the citizens of the city will shuffle off to church to atone for all that excess.

Mardi Gras is French for "Fat Tuesday" in ethnic English tradition, Shrove Tuesday, referring to the practice of the last night of eating richer, fatty foods before the ritual fasting of the Lent season, which begins on Ash Wednesday. Related popular practices are associated with celebrations before the fasting and religious obligations associated with the penitential season of Lent. Popular practices include wearing masks and costumes, overturning social conventions, dancing, sports competitions, parades, etc. Similar expressions to Mardi Gras appear in other European languages sharing the Christian tradition. In English, the day is called Shrove Tuesday, associated with the religious requirement for confession before Lent begins.

In many areas, the term "Mardi Gras" has come to mean the whole period of activity related to the celebratory events, beyond just the single day. Carnival is an important celebration in Catholic European nations. In the United Kingdom and Ireland, the week before Ash Wednesday is called "shrovetide", ending on Shrove Tuesday. It has its popular celebratory aspects as well. Pancakes are a traditional food. Pancakes and related fried breads or pastries made with sugar, fat and eggs are also traditionally consumed at this time in many parts of Latin America and the Caribbean.

The popular U.S. breakfast chain, International House of Pancakes (IHOP), celebrated Fat Tuesday or Mardi Gras a week early on March 1, calling it Pancake Day, known as Shrove Tuesday here, by serving up free flapjacks through the day. They gave the holiday some credibility asking for donations to help eradicate Leukemia and Lymphoma. Check out Dr. John's Mardi Gras Mambo on YouTube.

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