Mardi Gras and Hipocrisy?

[Zeldarocks]

My family is at it again with their attempts at making sure I don’t swim the Tiber; this time, they pointed out the custom of Mardi Gras and the apparent hypocrisy attached to it. That is to say, that Mardi Gras is a “last hurrah” of sorts to eat, drink, and be merry right before the Lenten Season begins. What should I make of what I am being told of Mardi Gras?

 

[Allegra]

Mardi Gras isn’t a holiday or custom of the Catholic Church. It is a secular holiday that was created by people who were Catholic and has grown and spread to people of all different religions and creeds. While it is known that some people choose to celebrate Mardi Gras with behavoirs that range from morally questionable to downright boorish, many others have a perfectly acceptable and clean celebration. Where I’m from, most people celebrate it by eating a king cake for dessert, attending a community parade, and entering their dog in a costume contest. What moral objection do your family and friends have regarding a celebration that preceeds a fast?

 

[Zeldarocks]

It’s the whole “stuff yourself full right before lent” attitude that seems to be problematic to my family; as some of you may know, my family is Protestant, with myself undertaking steps to come into the Catholic church.

 

[Corki]

It’s the whole “stuff yourself full right before lent” attitude that seems to be problematic to my family; as some of you may know, my family is Protestant, with myself undertaking steps to come into the Catholic church.

Not sure why this is a problem. It’s just human nature to feast before fasting and to break a fast with a feast. Mardi Gras is a time of feasting prior to Lent but the concept is not a uniquely Catholic one.

 

[Tantum_ergo]

Not sure why this is a problem. It’s just human nature to feast before fasting and to break a fast with a feast. Mardi Gras is a time of feasting prior to Lent but the concept is not a uniquely Catholic one.

And did they know why people 'stuffed themselves?"

You see, Lent was a time where we gave up things. . .things like meat, milk, butter, eggs (the fast was much more rigorous years ago).

SO> > > you had (before refrigeration) a situation where people could not eat these foods for nearly 7 weeks. Would you want to sit around your house with foods in various stages of spoilage all those weeks. . .or would you want to be a thrifty planner, make sure you ‘ate up’ those items BEFORE Lent started, so they wouldn’t be WASTING and ROTTING away during lent.

Also, it was customary that there be no weddings celebrated during Lent (or, if they were celebrated, there was not the customary wedding feast). Again, the custom grew up of having the parties, feasts, etc. BEFORE Lent because they could not otherwise occur until after Lent.

 

[funion987]

You don’t have to stuff yourself to enjoy for the last time something that you are giving up. The secular holiday, like many secular things, can be seen as gluttonous, but that doesn’t mean that Catholics think its OK.

I remember last year when I gave up videogames, I thought I was going to play for hours and hours on Mardi Gras, but ended up playing for maybe an hour. Certainly, this is not an issue of Catholicism.