Fat Tuesday, also know as Shrove Tuesday, Pancake Day and Mardi Gras is is considered the last day of the Carnival season, before the beginning of Lent and it has been recorded as far back as the 17th and 18th century.
According to historians, it all began thousands of years ago as a few local celebratory events honoring spring and fertility among Roman Catholics. Then the debauchery spread to other European countries such as France, Germany, England, and Spain, and finally made its way overseas to America with early settlers at the beginning of the 18th century. The reason “Fat Tuesday” is the English translation of the French term “Mardi Gras” is because members of the Christian faith would stuff themselves with beef, bread, and anything else that was left in their homes on the last day before Ash Wednesday, which kicked off the 40 days of Lent leading to Easter Sunday.
Fat Tuesday moved throughout the U.S. in the 1800s when French settlers threw parties in New Orleans and other French settlements across Louisiana. These parties consisted of masked balls, monstrous feasts, and people going wild in the streets. Since then, they’ve added multiple parades, decorating the floats of said parades, tossing beads, and the heavenly consumption of King Cake — a colorful ring-shaped doughy cake similar to coffee cake. And the color scheme wasn’t just a random selection of hues selected by the drunken bead tossers. According to IBTimes, in 1892, Rex, the King of Carnaval (another name for Mardi Gras) chose purple for justice, gold for power, and green for faith.
Laissez les bons temps rouler
Let the good times roll in the Miami Valley with these events:
Chicken, Shrimp & Andouille Sausage Gumbo over Rice – 7 Red Beans and Rice with Andouille Sausage 7 …
Join us for our annual Shrove Tuesday celebration! 7 pm Evening Prayer in Church, followed by the burning of last of last year’s palms, and, then, the Feast before the Fast celebration in the gym!
