hmmm…..
Mardi Gras would probably not be nearly as popular – or as much fun if it was called “Fat Tuesday” which is what it means in French. You probably don’t need this mini church history lesson, but long ago, on the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday all of the sugar, butter and spices were taken out of kitchens and used to make cakes, pancakes and other goodies. The idea was that all of the things that could not be eaten during Lent were finished up the day before Lent, so as not to waste them. “Fat Tuesday” came the day before “Ash Wednesday”.
Today, Mardi Gras is all about parties, parades and celebration; plus a few things we won’t go into right now. It occurred to me that it is interesting that two of the main locations of Mardi Gras, New Orleans, Louisiana and Galveston, Texas have been hit by massive hurricanes in the fairly recent years. I guess if you were wont to say so, there might be a case for the Almighty to be punishing the celebrators for their misbehavior in much the same way that he punished many Old Testament tribes and peoples.
I actually do not hold to that theory. To me, it is just too simple. I don’t think the Divine Creator works that way. If that were the case, then we would all be washed away into the salty brink. None of us escapes sin. We are all guilty of some misdemeanor or shortcoming and to single out one group or location just doesn’t work.
Celebration is good; it only goes south when we get carried away … so to speak ….
hmmm…..
No comments:
Post a Comment