Last Tuesday was Mardi Gras! Since Mardi Gras is a French holiday, we learned a little bit about it in class.
In French, Gras means fat and Mardi is Tuesday, so Mardi Gras literally means “Fat Tuesday.”
Mardi Gras is the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday, which marks the beginning of Lent. In the Christian church, Lent is the 40 days before Easter. In France and other countries, during Lent people are not supposed to eat butter or eggs or meat. So the day before Lent starts, on Mardi Gras, they eat lots of butter and eggs and meat and “get fat,” since they won’t be allowed to eat those things for forty days.
The tradition of dying and hiding Easter eggs is also Lenten in origin. During Lent, people are not supposed to eat eggs, but the hens don’t stop laying them! People started dying Easter eggs to use up the excess eggs they had during Lent.
During Mardi Gras festivities, people often wear elaborate masks like this one
Elaborate parties and parades like this one are often held for Mardi Gras -- in France, they're called "les carnavals"
French at Montessori School of Pullman 