What
Do Mardi Gras, Shrove Tuesday and
Pancakes Have in Common?
(The 3-Minute Weekly Insight from Spirituality U.)
All of these are ways of preparing
for Lent, the extended period of fasting practiced by Churches that comprise
the majority of the world’s two billion Christians.
The word Lent comes from a Latin
term that refers to Spring. These days, Lent is a nearly six-week-long period
beginning on Ash Wednesday and ending at Easter. For Christians, Lent is a
special time of prayer, penance, sacrifice and good works. A key spiritual
practice for Christians observing Lent is fasting.
The idea of fasting in preparation
for Easter dates from the earliest days of Christianity, but began to have a
specific form during the 4th Century, CE. Originally, Christians may
have simply abstained from eating meat during the Lenten fast. Later, they were
asked to give up meat, butter, cheese, eggs and even chicken. Fish was the
primary protein food allowed. Christians were required to fast for 40 days in
the period from Ash Wednesday to Easter. If you do the math, you realize that
there are more than 40 days during this period; Christians get Sundays off from
the fast!
Why 40? The Biblical roots are
deep, mirroring Moses’ 40 days on the mountaintop and Jesus’ 40 days and nights
of fasting in the desert.
These days, the fast is more
elective than required and those observing the fast may simply give up a
favorite food such as chocolate. Others may take on special tasks of justice
and mercy such as giving money to the poor or working at a soup kitchen.
In late medieval times, Mardi Gras
(French for “Fat Tuesday”), was the day before Ash Wednesday, a time when
households had a feast to consume all of the remaining meat, dairy and poultry
products in the home before the fast began. The practice spread to countries throughout
Christendom. In some countries, the
pre-Lent feast (or festival) is now called “Carnival” and actually extends over
a number of days and in some places, weeks. Louisiana is the only state in the
US where Mardi Gras is a legal holiday. New Orleans, in particular, is noted
for its Mardi Gras parades and wild street parties. However, the longest
running Mardi Gras observance in the US is celebrated in Mobile, Alabama.
Mardi Gras
traces its roots back thousands of years to pagan celebrations of spring and
fertility, including the wild Roman festivals of Saturnalia and Lupercalia.
“Shrove Tuesday” is the term some
Christians use to refer to what others call Fat Tuesday. The word “Shrove ,”
derives from an Old English word that refers to the sacrament of penance and
absolution. In earlier times many Christians went to confession as a way of
preparing for Lent.
Oh, and the pancakes. Many churches
(especially Episcopal) have pancake suppers on the evening before Ash Wednesday.
Why? Because traditionally pancakes (and the sausage or bacon served with them)
offered families an easy way of using up many of the foods that they would soon
be giving up for Lent: eggs, milk, butter, sugar, and meat.
For more information about Mardi Gras visit”
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