Tuesday, February 24, 2009

TODAY IS SHROVE OR FAT TUESDAY!

The word Shrove ( comes from to shrive or hear confession).  Mardi Gras means Fat Tuesday and it is the last day of Carnival. It occurs 46 days  before Easter.  All parties and parades continue  until the stroke of midnight.Traditionally on this day the fatten calf was slaughtered and there was feasting and celebrating. Tomorrow is Ash Wednesday which is the start of Lent for Christians.

 

queen

 

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Carnival season kicks off with the Epiphany also known as Twelfth Night, which fall on January 6th, 12 days after Christmas, which celebrates the visit of the Wise Men bearing gifts to the Baby Jesus. It ends today.

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Mardi Gras came to the New World in 1699, when a French explorer arrived at the Mississippi River about 60 miles from the present day New Orleans.  He named the place Point du Mardi Gras, he knew the holiday was being celebrated in his native country that day.

 

Ambassador

The colors of Mardi Gras, green is for faith, gold is for power, and purple is justice.

The most famous food is the king cake, in which a tiny plastic baby is hidden and the person who get the baby, is the Queen of that group and must give the party next year.

king cake

 

Mardi Gras is celebrated in many cities, some small and others large.  Largest is in New Orleans, Mobile has a big celebration, Galveston was a huge success before the hurricane and will be back this year, Port Arthur,Texas also has one and I am sure I could keep on listing cities that celebrate Carnival.

 

kingCake

There is a lot of history behind this celebration, if you are interested, there is loads of information on the internet.

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So Eat Hearty and Party, for tomorrow begins Lent.

Have a great day!

See Y’all 

 

Barbara

4 comments:

savvycityfarmer said...

but I don't wanna be fat today.....sigh

Dixie said...

Hi Barbara... great post... some info I didn't know.. !thanks... Did you know that Mardi Gras is French for Fat Tuesday?... which always makes me think of that book... "French Women don't get Fat"... I'm here to tell you that we do! LOL

It's easy to join Blue Monday, Wordless Wednesday... etc. Just decide which you want to join, put you post up, then go to the host blog and link your post with Mr. Linky on their post. The only exception to the ones I do is Pink Saturday... you have to email Beverly by Thursday evening to let her know you're participating because she doesn't use Mr. Linky.

Tomorrow is Wordless Wednesday... hosted by ... Me! I'd love to have you join. The info is on my sidebar.. including the subject word(s) of the week. Hope to see you there... let me know if you need help.

Blessings. Dixie

Dixie said...

ps... while at my blog, feel free to pick up the "Texas" button and the "Cowgirl Up"Award (for all cowgirls and cowgirls at heart)...
Dixie

Anonymous said...

What a great post and photos too!
Enjoyed learning all about the Mardi Gras celebration.

Hope your drought gets better soon.I understand droughts all too well. They are not fun.
We have had a dry winter also. Some rain, just not enough to make up for our droughts the last few years. Maybe we all will get rain that need it soon, without the storms.
Pam