One of the most joyous and colorful celebrations in the entire United States has arrived! This Tuesday, February 21, the American Union commemorates Mardi Gras, also know as ‘Fat Tuesday’ o ‘Shrove Tuesday‘ in English.
Through this celebration, many cities in the country, but mainly New Orleans, in Louisiana, carry out a series of colorful carnivals, where purple, green and gold stands out. The color purple represents the justicethe green the fe and the gold, the can.
In addition to the representative and happy carnivals, Mardi Gras is also the perfect day to eat as much fat as possible, as it marks the beginning of Lent.
Why is Mardi Gras celebrated in the United States? Origin and meaning of Fat Tuesday
‘Mardi Gras‘ means ‘Fat Tuesday‘ in French; hence the origin of the name of the celebration.
Meanwhile, the roots of the holiday as such are merely religious. The first time Mardi Gras was celebrated was In XVII century, when they finished a whole series of carnivals and celebrations that began on January 6 to give way to Ash Wednesday.
To the celebration of Mardi Gras it is also known as ‘Shrove Tuesday’ (Confession Day, in Spanish) due to its proximity to the aforementioned Holy Day, same as start to the six-week period of penance before Easter.
Thus, Mardi Gras is also called ‘Fat Tuesday’ since, being the beginning of Lent, people tend to eat as much fat as possible before the deprivation of certain foods arrives.
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And the pancakes?
One of the most common ways to celebrate Fat Tuesday is eating pancakes because of the idea of ingesting as much fat as possible; which, curiously, led to the creation of National Pancake Day.
