Mardi Gras/Shrove Tuesday -- The day before Ash Wednesday

The last day before Lent is a weird mix of happiness and sadness. We say goodbye to the joys of winter. We look forward to the coming of Easter. Perhaps the people who keep this day the most wildly are the ones who intend to keep Lent the most seriously.

In England, this day is Shrove Tuesday, and another word for Carnival (the festive time before Lent) is "Shrovetide." "Shrive" is an old word for having your sins forgiven. People would get ready for Lent by celebrating the sacrament of reconciliation and also by asking forgiveness of one another. Then they would keep the disciplines of Lent as their penance. Lenten penance is a sign of sorrow for injustices and an act of thanksgiving for pardon.

That was the serious business of Shrovetide. Another task during Carnival was the eating up of Lent's forbidden foods.

For over a thousand years, most Christians kept Lent by not eating animal products. It's unusual that a custom would be kept by Christians in both the East and West, but that's how important this tradition was. It probably began out of necessity. The coming warm weather would spoil foods in storage. Also, late winter and early spring are the animals' birthing season. By not eating animal products at this time of year, people helped a new generation get off to a healthy start.

Catholic Christians thought that by not eating animal products during Lent, they could better resemble Noah and his family aboard the ark. They could help prepare the world for a new creation.

At Carnival all meat, butter, cheese and eggs got used up in a final feast before the Lenten fast. Making pancakes and doughnuts uses up a lot of these ingredients. Russians call the days before Lent "Butter Week." In some countries, the last day before Lent is called Doughnut Day or Pancake Day. The Irish call it "Ash Eve." The French call it Mardi Gras, which means Fat Tuesday.

(Adapted from Companion to the Calendar by Mary Ellen Hynes for Liturgy Training Publications).