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What is Mardi Gras Celebrating?

This question is almost always asked the wrong way! This is because most people have absolutely no knowledge, about this catholic holiday, and will subsequently incorrectly phrase the question wrongly. So the first task is to correctly phrase the question. Most people think Carnival and Mardi Gras are the same thing! It is not!

Carnival is the celebration and Mardi Gras is the last day of that celebration! So the correct question is, "What is Carnival celebrating"! The quick answer to the real question, is that Carnival, celebrates the end of winter and the coming Spring season.  However to fully grasp an understanding and completely answer the question of what Carnival celebrates, there are a few more facts that you should know. 

     The proper name of the celebration is the, Festival of Carnival. Carnival occurs between January 6th, each year and ends one day before Ash Wednesday, which marks the arrival of the fasting days of Lent.

 So you see, "Mardi Gras" celebrates nothing, it is merely the last day in a 35 day to as long as a 63day observance of a Festival.  The words, "Mardi Gras", is in the French language. Broken down, the words are, "Mardi", French for "Tuesday".    "Gras", in French, means "Fat".  In translating French to English, the last word spoken should be, (more or less) the first word translated. Therefore following this loose rule, the translation comes to mean, "Fat Tuesday". Since Louisiana is the principle location in America where the French brought the celebration to this country, it is by the French name we call the last day. 

  Now that we have the literal translation of the words, we need to know why this one Tuesday of the year, above all others is referred too, by the French, by this given name.

   In the Middle Ages, the catholic church prescribed what was on the daily menu. Each week during the Lenten season, there was at least one day, and more often three or even four days (depending on where and when in medieval Europe, you were) during which no meat was to be eaten. For centuries, it was customary to fast by abstaining from meat with the lone exception of fish, during Lent

In those days, long ago, people, of course, had no refrigeration, to hold perishable foods for long periods of time.  Lenten season,  required the observer to refrain from meat, which presented some interesting problems for keeping and storing foods. Since the Lenten season is about 40 days long, in duration, meat on hand, had to either, be eaten, before the start of the observance or discarded.

Since Lent always starts on the seventh Wednesday before Easter, the religious following of Jesus, would choose the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday to feast, before beginning the season of "fasting". This way they could take care of two problems; the first, they could put off the hunger that goes along with fasting, for another 24 hours. The second, how to get rid of all that meat before it spoiled, because they basically had a meatless and sometimes a very slim diet, for the next month. The French began to refer too this day as, "Fat Tuesday" or,  as spoken in French, "Mardi Gras".

The day, however, does commemorates the activity of preparation for the observance of Lent. This commemoration or observance reminds us of the coming of Lent, and the reflection of the past years of life.

The holiday has for many, become the evil thing, we see each year, because they do not understand the day or it's purpose. For many, this is the first REAL explanation they have seen as to what they are truly celebrating.

Mardi Gras has evolved into a rowdy, happy and crazy celebration that vendors, club owners, and others have hijacked and turned it from the quite day of feasting at home, to the parade going, beer guzzling, breast flashing party you sometimes see and hear about.