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Welcome to Mardi Gras

Jeff Young  /  02/16/10

Orpheus. Endymion. Thoth. Bacchus. These are not names you would immediately associate with the Catholic Faith. Yet, in New Orleans, these Greek & Roman gods find themselves caught in the middle of a very Catholic celebration... something we call Mardi Gras.

The popular media portray Mardi Gras as a lurid fall into unbridled debauchery. We see it painted that way on TV and on Youtube. But, the Catholic origin and the Catholic rationale of Mardi Gras is rarely given voice.

Mardi Gras IS Catholic! From the date of Mardi Gras... to the reason for Mardi Gras... to the fact that Catholics are a people of celebration... Mardi Gras is Catholic.

The date of Mardi Gras depends on the date of Ash Wednesday, which depends on the date of Easter, which depends on the moon. That's right. The moon. Easter is a lunar feast. It is always celebrated on the first Sunday after the full moon after the vernal equinox. Lunar feasts. Sounds kind of pagan, doesn't it? But it is actually based on the feasts that were celebrated by the Israelites. So... the fact that there is a Mardi Gras (Fat Tuesday), and when the date is set, is all due to the Catholic Faith. But what else about Mardi Gras is Catholic?

The actual day of Mardi Gras is the day before Ash Wednesday. Now, in New Orleans, Mardi Gras is a season. It begins with the Feast of the Epiphany on January 6, and it ends at midnight on Fat Tuesday. Ash Wednesday begins a season of fasting and penance. It is that season that provides the Catholic rationale for Mardi Gras, which is also known as Carnival.

The word Carnival actually comes from the combination of two Latin words: "Carne" and "Vale." Carne means meat. Vale means "good-bye." So the term "Carnival" really means "good-bye meat!" Catholics abstain from meat on Fridays in Lent. And Ash Wednesday and Good Friday are days of fasting. No meat.
In South Louisiana not eating meat on Friday is only a convenient excuse to feast on the wonderful and plentiful selection of seafood here. But that is another story.

Catholics are called to be a joyful people, a celebratory people. We can see that lived out very clearly at Mardi Gras. Unfortunately, there are people who carry things too far. Yes, the stories you hear about wild drunkenness and even nudity in the French Quarter are true. Those things do happen. But that is not the purpose of Mardi Gras. And, typically, those things only happen in the French Quarter. But, Mardi Gras parades also run in uptown New Orleans and in Metairie (and in many other places across South Louisiana, like Baton Rouge and Lafayette).

I must admit that most years Ash Wednesday is rather uneventful for me. It's a day of recuperation. It's a day when I start to think about the 40 days of Lent. I think about my sins and the fact that I really need to pray more. But, I really don't feel the penitential aspect of the day. However, I think this year will be different. Ash Wednesday is going to be painful. The celebration of Mardi Gras has been more intense this year than any year I can remember. Why? Because the Saints won the Super Bowl!

WHO DAT!

I can't begin to tell you what the Saints' victory means for the City of New Orleans (and for all of South Louisiana for that matter). It is something you just have to experience. The sense of celebration in the air is palpable. And the streets are flooded with people. Ash Wednesday is going to be more than just an end of Mardi Gras and the beginning of Lent. In a very real way it is going to symbolize a return to normalcy after two weeks of intense celebration of the New Orleans Saints. We will not forget the victory. But one can celebrate for only so long. It can't go on like this forever. And I think that's the point of Mardi Gras: to celebrate intensely the blessings in our lives, and then to return to the daily grind of our lives with a renewed sense of gratitude... and joy!

As we say down here in South Louisiana, Laissez les bon temps roulez! Let the good times roll!

Jeff Young is an expert and contributing writer for iibloom. Jeff is the Catholic Foodie. He produces the Catholic Foodie internet radio show and blog at http://www.catholicfoodie.com.