This is my favorite kind of Mardi Gras: so wet, icy and cold that most people with any sense will stay home. I guess it’s obvious that I’m not a huge fan of Mardi Gras.
I don’t remember our family celebrating much Mardi Gras when I was a kid. When I graduated from High School our family moved to Lafayette. We lived just off of Jefferson Street and across the street from George Rodrigue. You could watch the Mardi Gras parades from our front porch. I did notice that we had a lot more friends on the Mardi Gras weekend than the rest of the year.
Some people forget that Mardi Gras is the last day before Lent, which marks the forty days before Easter. I do remember Lent as a child. I remember getting ashes. I remember my sweet grandmother gave up playing cards for lent. She turned into a she devil for forty days. We would never visit her during Lent. It just wasn’t safe. When we would ask about visiting her our parents would just say “It’s Lent” and give us a knowing look. We would be required to give up something for Lent. We would try to come up with something that we really didn’t like anyway. Our parents normally didn’t fall for that.
It seems to me that Mardi Gras has gotten a lot more popular over the years and Lent, however, isn’t very popular at all. I guess that says a bunch about modern Christianity. We are all into partying and fun and eating; not so much into penance, giving up, fasting, or being serious.
Maybe that’s my problem with Mardi Gras. There’s too much of it and not enough of Lent.
Did I mention I’m glad for the ice and rain and cold. Hope your Mardi Gras is miserable and your Lent is meaningful, but that’s just me.
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