So I have to ask who celebrates Mardi Gras. This is a holiday on the day before Ash Wednesday. The Carnival celebration begins on or after the Christian feasts of the Epiphany (Three Kings Day), which is know as Shrove Tuesday. Mardi Gras is French for Fat Tuesday reflecting the practice of the last night of eating rich, fatty foods before the ritual Lenten sacrifices and fasting of the Lenten season.
Some think Mardi Gras may be linked with the ancient Roman pagan celebrations of spring and fertility such as Saturnalia, which dates back to 133–31 BC. Wow this is way before my time! This celebration honored the god of agriculture, Saturn. It was observed in mid-December, before the sowing of winter crops. It was a week-long festival when work and business came to a halt. Schools and courts of law closed, and the normal social patterns were suspended. On the Julian calendar, which the Romans adopted in 45 BC, the winter solstice fell on December 25. Hence, the celebration gradually became associated with Christmas.
Now, this festival season varies from city to city, for example the one in New Orleans, Louisiana, consider Mardi Gras to stretch the entire period from Twelfth Night (the last night of Christmas which begins Epiphany) to Ash Wednesday. They maybe right but others treat the final three-day period before Ash Wednesday as the Mardi Gras. In Mobile, Alabama, Mardi Gras is an associated social events begin in November, followed by mystic society balls on Thanksgiving. Then New Year's Eve, followed by parades and balls in January and February, celebrating up to midnight before Ash Wednesday. Hey I love a good party, I may need to go there. In earlier times, parades were held on New Year's Day.
So I have been to New Orleans Mardi Gras and it was great. But living in Florida I can't always make it. So sometimes I go to Universal Orlando to celebrate. But if it just been a hard year for me, I always put a wreath on my door.
