okay let's start with a little history lesson... (thanks to american catholic.org)
What is less known about Mardi Gras is its relation to the Christmas season, through the ordinary-time interlude known in many Catholic cultures as Carnival. (Ordinary time, in the Christian calendar, refers to the normal "ordering" of time outside of the Advent/Christmas or Lent/Easter seasons. Carnival comes from the Latin words "carne vale", meaning "farewell to the flesh." Like many Catholic holidays and seasonal celebrations, it likely has its roots in pre-Christian traditions based on the seasons. Some believe the festival represented the few days added to the lunar calendar to make it coincide with the solar calendar; since these days were outside the calendar, rules and customs were not obeyed. Others see it as a late-winter celebration designed to welcome the coming spring. As early as the middle of the second century, the Romans observed a Fast of 40 Days, which was preceded by a brief season of feasting, costumes and merrymaking.
The Carnival season kicks off with the Epiphany, also known as Twelfth Night, Three Kings' Day and, in the Eastern churches, Theophany. Epiphany, which falls on January 6, 12 days after Christmas, celebrates the visit of the Wise Men bearing gifts for the infant Jesus. In cultures that celebrate Carnival, Epiphany kicks off a series of parties leading up to Mardi Gras.
Epiphany is also traditionally when celebrants serve King's Cake, a custom that began in France in the 12th century. Legend has it that the cakes were made in a circle to represent the circular routes that the Wise Men took to find Jesus, in order to confuse King Herod and foil his plans of killing the Christ Child. In the early days, a coin or bean was hidden inside the cake, and whoever found the item was said to have good luck in the coming year. In Louisiana, bakers now put a small baby, representing the Christ Child, in the cake; the recipient is then expected to host the next King Cake party.
There are well-known season-long Carnival celebrations in Europe and Latin America, including Nice, France; Cologne, Germany; and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The best-known celebration in the U.S. is in New Orleans and the French-Catholic communities of the Gulf Coast. Mardi Gras came to the New World in 1699, when a French explorer arrived at the Mississippi River, about 60 miles south of present day New Orleans. He named the spot Point du Mardi Gras because he knew the holiday was being celebrated in his native country that day.
Eventually the French in New Orleans celebrated Mardi Gras with masked balls and parties, until the Spanish government took over in the mid-1700s and banned the celebrations. The ban continued even after the U.S. government acquired the land but the celebrations resumed in 1827. The official colors of Mardi Gras, with their roots in Catholicism, were chosen 10 years later: purple, a symbol of justice; green, representing faith; and gold, to signify power.
Mardi Gras literally means "Fat Tuesday" in French. The name comes from the tradition of slaughtering and feasting upon a fattened calf on the last day of Carnival. The day is also known as Shrove Tuesday (from "to shrive," or hear confessions), Pancake Tuesday and fetter Dienstag. The custom of making pancakes comes from the need to use up fat, eggs and dairy before the fasting and abstinence of Lent begins.
Mardi Gras, literally "Fat Tuesday," has grown in popularity in recent years as a raucous, sometimes hedonistic event. But its roots lie in the Christian calendar, as the "last hurrah" before Lent begins on Ash Wednesday. That's why the enormous party in New Orleans, for example, ends abruptly at midnight on Tuesday, with battalions of street sweepers pushing the crowds out of the French Quarter towards home.
What is less known about Mardi Gras is its relation to the Christmas season, through the ordinary-time interlude known in many Catholic cultures as Carnival. (Ordinary time, in the Christian calendar, refers to the normal "ordering" of time outside of the Advent/Christmas or Lent/Easter seasons. Carnival comes from the Latin words "carne vale", meaning "farewell to the flesh." Like many Catholic holidays and seasonal celebrations, it likely has its roots in pre-Christian traditions based on the seasons. Some believe the festival represented the few days added to the lunar calendar to make it coincide with the solar calendar; since these days were outside the calendar, rules and customs were not obeyed. Others see it as a late-winter celebration designed to welcome the coming spring. As early as the middle of the second century, the Romans observed a Fast of 40 Days, which was preceded by a brief season of feasting, costumes and merrymaking.
The Carnival season kicks off with the Epiphany, also known as Twelfth Night, Three Kings' Day and, in the Eastern churches, Theophany. Epiphany, which falls on January 6, 12 days after Christmas, celebrates the visit of the Wise Men bearing gifts for the infant Jesus. In cultures that celebrate Carnival, Epiphany kicks off a series of parties leading up to Mardi Gras.
Epiphany is also traditionally when celebrants serve King's Cake, a custom that began in France in the 12th century. Legend has it that the cakes were made in a circle to represent the circular routes that the Wise Men took to find Jesus, in order to confuse King Herod and foil his plans of killing the Christ Child. In the early days, a coin or bean was hidden inside the cake, and whoever found the item was said to have good luck in the coming year. In Louisiana, bakers now put a small baby, representing the Christ Child, in the cake; the recipient is then expected to host the next King Cake party.
There are well-known season-long Carnival celebrations in Europe and Latin America, including Nice, France; Cologne, Germany; and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The best-known celebration in the U.S. is in New Orleans and the French-Catholic communities of the Gulf Coast. Mardi Gras came to the New World in 1699, when a French explorer arrived at the Mississippi River, about 60 miles south of present day New Orleans. He named the spot Point du Mardi Gras because he knew the holiday was being celebrated in his native country that day.
Eventually the French in New Orleans celebrated Mardi Gras with masked balls and parties, until the Spanish government took over in the mid-1700s and banned the celebrations. The ban continued even after the U.S. government acquired the land but the celebrations resumed in 1827. The official colors of Mardi Gras, with their roots in Catholicism, were chosen 10 years later: purple, a symbol of justice; green, representing faith; and gold, to signify power.
Mardi Gras literally means "Fat Tuesday" in French. The name comes from the tradition of slaughtering and feasting upon a fattened calf on the last day of Carnival. The day is also known as Shrove Tuesday (from "to shrive," or hear confessions), Pancake Tuesday and fetter Dienstag. The custom of making pancakes comes from the need to use up fat, eggs and dairy before the fasting and abstinence of Lent begins.
Now that we know all that... what does this mean? I think that the basic idea is we all need to reign ourselves in from time-to-time. Since humans are wired to eat and eat and consume until all the resources are gone in a particular area; then we move on to the next area and repeat the consumption process.
The problem may be that our nervous systems haven't evolved or it could be that we have populated every area on the planet so there isn't an new area to go inhabit. Either way I see the carnival/lent period of the year as a way to pull back a little on the "wretched excess", to STOP and do some inventory about our lives, our actions and the pile of stuff that we've accumulated throughout the year.
Do you have clothes that are "last season" or don't fit anymore? Is there someone who could use those clothes? Have you been meaning to start an exercise program or new eating routine? this would be the perfect time to that started. You know that most people (78%) who begin an exercise or eating program on Jan.1 have already "fallen off the wagon" NOW would be a great time to get back on the bus or to finally begin that new program.
Why am I talking about Lent as a starting point for new routines? BECAUSE IT'S ONLY 40 DAYS LONG!!! it's just a little longer than a month, which is plenty of time to notice what's working and not working in your "new routine". It give you a snapshot of what has to happen in order to make this new routine a regular habit AND it will be long enough to notice what other areas of your life are beginning strain form the increased attention that your putting to a single area.
I'm all about B-A-L-A-N-C-E. You have 8 major areas in your Wheel of Life and it is so common for us to throw ourselves into a new project with checking to see if the "new addition" to your schedule with work congruently with all your other commitments in the of the areas of your Life Wheel. If you are in a relationship/ married and/or have kids the process can get even more challenging.
So for today... party your buns off!
Tomorrow let's talk about setting some well-formed intentions about how you're going to get rolling on your new goal. I'll post some downloadable link for a well-formed intention with action-steps so you can started correctly and who knows maybe the next 40 days will begin the most focused you've been all year.
best regards,
Michael Harris, PhD
I will also be posting a special price ($20.00 for 20 minutes) phone consultation link for those of you who would like a little extra help getting your well-formed intention complete and ready to start immediately.
The problem may be that our nervous systems haven't evolved or it could be that we have populated every area on the planet so there isn't an new area to go inhabit. Either way I see the carnival/lent period of the year as a way to pull back a little on the "wretched excess", to STOP and do some inventory about our lives, our actions and the pile of stuff that we've accumulated throughout the year.
Do you have clothes that are "last season" or don't fit anymore? Is there someone who could use those clothes? Have you been meaning to start an exercise program or new eating routine? this would be the perfect time to that started. You know that most people (78%) who begin an exercise or eating program on Jan.1 have already "fallen off the wagon" NOW would be a great time to get back on the bus or to finally begin that new program.
Why am I talking about Lent as a starting point for new routines? BECAUSE IT'S ONLY 40 DAYS LONG!!! it's just a little longer than a month, which is plenty of time to notice what's working and not working in your "new routine". It give you a snapshot of what has to happen in order to make this new routine a regular habit AND it will be long enough to notice what other areas of your life are beginning strain form the increased attention that your putting to a single area.
I'm all about B-A-L-A-N-C-E. You have 8 major areas in your Wheel of Life and it is so common for us to throw ourselves into a new project with checking to see if the "new addition" to your schedule with work congruently with all your other commitments in the of the areas of your Life Wheel. If you are in a relationship/ married and/or have kids the process can get even more challenging.
So for today... party your buns off!
Tomorrow let's talk about setting some well-formed intentions about how you're going to get rolling on your new goal. I'll post some downloadable link for a well-formed intention with action-steps so you can started correctly and who knows maybe the next 40 days will begin the most focused you've been all year.
best regards,
Michael Harris, PhD
I will also be posting a special price ($20.00 for 20 minutes) phone consultation link for those of you who would like a little extra help getting your well-formed intention complete and ready to start immediately.
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