It was the Ellen Degeneres show that reminded me that the next day would be Ash Wednesday. Ellen had those Mardi Gras beads and a lady guest from New Orleans.. And so, I downed two beers while watching the show.
Most people associate Mardi Gras with merry making and carnivals, as in Rio, Brazil and in New Orleans. Its roots are Christian, marking the day before Ash Wednesday when Christendom starts the practice of fasting and mortification. Mardi Gras is leterally “Fat Tuesday” in French, also known as Shrove Tuesday or Pancake day in UK.
It is an error to refer to Philippine festivals such as the Ati-Atihan, Sinulog, Masskara, Dinagyang, Buling Buling, etc. as the local Mardi Gras. It might be more appropriate to associate these to what was known in many Catholic cultures as Carnival, the liturgical period between Christmas and Lent.
Mardi Gras is French for Fat Tuesday, a pagan custom which Christianity has tried to relate to the coming of Lent, a season of doing penance. The event is also known as Shrove Tuesday, perhaps a more Christian label and associated with pancake dinners.
Mardi Gras is French for Fat Tuesday, a pagan custom which Christianity has tried to relate to the coming of Lent, a season of doing penance. The event is also known as Shrove Tuesday, perhaps a more Christian label and associated with pancake dinners.
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