Mardi Gras, or Fat Tuesday, falls on the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent. We hear a lot about Mardi Gras; the parties, the parades, the costumes, feasting and festivities, but what is it all about. Mardi Gras, which literally means, “Fat Tuesday,” is the day before the beginning of Lent. In earlier times, when many more people observed the forty days of Lenten fasting prescribed by the liturgical calendar, Mardi Gras was the last day you could eat and drink and party, so people made the most of it. Today few people observe the dietary restrictions demanded by the church in the old days, however, in some communities the festivities of Mardi Gras continue, New Orleans being major among them. |
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