What is Fat Tuesday and how did Fat Tuesday it start?

youtube.com/watch?v=5y8D9qYx09M Fat Tuesday is actually a religious observance, whose origins date back for many centuries to ancient Rome. The holiday, also called "Shrove Tuesday" because of the traditional hearing of confessions associated with the holiday, is called "Fat" Tuesday because it marks the last day before Ash Wednesday, when Lent begins. Traditionally, Lent was characterized by the "giving up" of pleasures or habits or vices, and so Fat Tuesday served sort of as a buffer for the harder times ahead in the Lent season.

The holiday itself is intricately connected with Carnival, a holiday celebrated in several countries by Catholic populations. According to an article on "The Catholic Roots of Mardi Gras" posted at http://www.americancatholic.org/Features/MardiGras/ : "What is less known about Mardi Gras is its relation to the Christmas season, through the ordinary-time interlude known in many Catholic cultures as Carnival. (Ordinary time, in the Christian calendar, refers to the normal "ordering" of time outside of the Advent/Christmas or Lent/Easter seasons... Carnival comes from the Latin words carne vale, meaning "farewell to the flesh."

Like many Catholic holidays and seasonal celebrations, it likely has its roots in pre-Christian traditions based on the seasons. Some believe the festival represented the few days added to the lunar calendar to make it coincide with the solar calendar; since these days were outside the calendar, rules and customs were not obeyed. Others see it as a late-winter celebration designed to welcome the coming spring.As early as the middle of the second century, the Romans observed a Fast of 40 Days, which was preceded by a brief season of feasting, costumes and merrymaking.

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Fat Tuesday came about because the Catholic Church in Rome wished to co-opt the holidays of pagans in order to make it easier to convert them to Christianity. This is a tactic which has been employed by the Roman Catholic Church several times over the centuries. One of the most notable examples of this is the holiday known as Christmas, which was itself co-opted by the Church from the holiday "Yule", celebrated in midwinter by the ancient Britons.

An article posted at http://www.novareinna.com/festive/mardi.html lends support to this statement: "When Christianity arrived in Rome, the dignitaries of the early Church decided it would be more prudent to incorporate certain aspects of such rituals into the new faith rather than attempt to abolish them altogether. This granted a Christian interpretation to the ancient custom and the Carnival became a time of abandon and merriment which peceded the Lenten period (a symbolic Christian pentinence of 40 days commencing on Ash Wednesday and ending at Easter). During this time, there would be feasting which lasted several days and participants would indulge in voluntary madness by donning masks, clothing themselves in the likeness of spectres and generally giving themselves up to Bacchus and Venus.

All aspects of pleasure were considered to be allowable during the Carnival celebration and today's modern festivites are thought by some to be more reminiscent of the Roman Saturnalia rather than Lupercalia, or be linked to even earlier Pagan festivals. From Rome, the celebration spread to other European countries.In medieval times, a similar-type festivity to that of the present day Mardi Gras was given by monarchs and lords prior to Lent in order to ceremoniously conscript new knights into service and hold feasts in their honor. The landed gentry would also ride through the countryside rewarding peasants with cakes (thought by some to be the origin of the King Cake), coins (perhaps the origin of present day gifts of Mardi Gras doubloons) and other trinkets.

In Germany, there still remains a Carnival similar to that of the one held in New Orleans. Known as Fasching, the celebrations begin on Twelfth Night and continue until Shrove Tuesday. To a lesser degree, this festivity is still celebrated in France and Spain.

A Carnival season was also celebrated in England until the Nineteenth Century, originating as a type of "renewal" festival that incorporated fertility motifs and ball games which frequently turned into riots between opposing villages, followed by feasts of pancakes and the imbibing of alcohol. The preparing and consumption of pancakes on Shrove Tuesday (also known as "Pancake Day" or "Pancake Tuesday" and occurring annually between February 2 and March 9, depending upon the date of Easter) is a still a tradition in the United Kingdom, where pancake tossing and pancake races (during which a pancake must be tossed a certain number of times) are still popular. One of the most famous of such competitions, which takes place in Olney, Buckinghamshire, is said to date from 1445.

It is a race for women only and for those who have lived in the Parish for at least three URL7 apron and head-covering are requisite. The course is 415 yards and the pancake must be tossed at least three times during the race. The winner receives a kiss from the Ringer of the Pancake Bell and a prayer book from the local vicar."Shrove" is derived from the Old English word "shrive," which means to "confess all sins.

"" So we see that implementation of the Fat Tuesday holiday was, at first, an ecclesiastical ploy to gain religious converts, and then later, was used by European monarchs as a means to the recruitment of landed nobles, Knights, who formed the backbone of the medieval European military. In America, the holiday is celebrated, most notably in New Orleans (though even Deadwood, South Dakota, 10 miles from where I now sit, has its own Mardi Gras celebration, ironically enough, celebrated on a weekend rather than a Tuesday, since business is better on weekends around here). The holiday is marked by several notable observances.

1. Masks: Masks are a traditional part of Mardi Gras, as explained in the citations above, as a symbolic "voluntary madness" in keeping with the general good will of the holiday. Partygoers know they're having the "last hurrah" before Lent, so they let it all hang out, so to speak. Which brings us to our next observance.

2. Breasts for Beads: Perhaps not exactly the most tactful way to put it, certainly, but perhaps one of the most accurate ways to describe this observance is "Breasts for Beads". This is observed in the Deadwood Mardi Gras celebration, too.

The idea is, the bigger the beads, the better the view, so to speak. This act is also kind of symbolic in its meaning. As Fat Tuesday is part of Carnival, literally the "Farewell to the Flesh", it is likely that this feature of the holiday developed as sort of a symbolic last goodbye to carnal pleasure, which would be lacking during Lent.

3. The King Cake - This tradition appears to date back to pre-Christian times. Mardigras Digest at http://www.mardigrasdigest.com/html/history_of/history_of_the_king_cake.htm elaborates upon the history of the King Cake and its association with Fat Tuesday and the Mardi Gras celebration: " The history of the King Cake has its roots in pre-Christian religions of Western Europe.

Part of the Harvest celebrations that the pagans practiced was the sacrifice ritual.It was customary to choose a man to be the "sacred king" of the tribe for a year. That man would be treated like a king for the year, then he would be sacrificed, and his blood returned to the soil to ensure that the harvest would be successful. The method of choosing who would have the honor of being the sacred king was the purpose of the "King's Cake".

Several men of the tribe, would eat of the cake A coin or bean would be placed in the cake before baking, and whoever got the slice that had the coin was the chosen one. When Christianity extended its influence and began overshadowing the religions that came before it, many of the local customs were not outright abolished, but instead were incorporated into Christian tradition and given a new spin. This even happened to the tradition of Mardi Gras, and from what we have researched so far seems to be the case, but that's another story.

Catholic priests were not predisposed to human sacrifice, so the King's Cake was converted into a celebration of the Magi, the three Kings who came to visit the Christ Child. In 12th century France where the cake would be baked on the eve of January 6 to celebrate the visit to the Christ Child by the three Kings. A small token was hidden in the cake as a surprise for the finder.

French settlers brought the custom to Louisiana in the 18th century where it remained associated with the Epiphany until the 19th century when it became a more elaborate Mardi Gras custom. In New Orleans, the first cake of the season is served on January 6. A small ceramic figurine of a baby is hidden inside the cake, by tradition.

However now, the tradition is giving way to the baby being supplied and the customer placing the baby where ever they wish in the cake. Whoever finds the baby is allowed to choose a mock court and host the next King Cake party the following week (weekly cake parties were held until Mardi Gras). " So we see that the King Cake, too, has been around for a couple thousand years, and in combination with other features of the holiday, contributes to a tradition which has endured for several eras of human history now, throughout "barbarian" invasions, two major Inquisitions (Spanish and Roman), several Crusades, and no less than two (possibly even three) World Wars.

Here's a picture of a King Cake, and also a youtube video by a citizen of New Orleans (who looks so much like one of the Ramones that I would have thought he was one until I heard his southern accent) on the subject of the King Cake and how it's used in New Orleans these days. youtube.com/watch?v=5y8D9qYx09M0 youtube.com/watch?v=5y8D9qYx09M1 4. Parades: No mardi gras celebration in the modern world would be complete without parades.

Again, the parades are symbolic of the last times of revelry and abandon before Lent. 5. Purple, Green, and White: These are the colors of Mardi Gras, at least in New Orleans.

They were picked by the Grand Duke Alexis Romanoff of Russia, and have remained the official colors ever since. They even became the official colors of Louisiana State University, as well. youtube.com/watch?v=5y8D9qYx09M1 has the following to say about the choosing of the colors: "The traditional colors of Mardi Gras are purple (symbolic of justice), green (symbolic of faith) and gold (symbolic of power).

The accepted story behind the original selection of these colors originates from 1872 when the Grand Duke Alexis Romanoff of Russia visited New Orleans. It is said that the Grand Duke came to the city in pursuit of an actress named Lydia Thompson. During his stay, he was given the honor of selecting the official Mardi Gras colors by the Krewe of Rex...thus, did these colors also become the colors of the House of Romanoff.

The 1892 Rex Parade theme ("Symbolism of Colors") first gave meaning to the representation of the official Mardi Gras colors. Interestingly, the colors of Mardi Gras influenced the choice of school colors for the Lousiana arch-rival colleges, Louisiana State University and Tulane University. When LSU was deciding on its colors, the stores in New Orleans had stocked-up on fabrics of purple, green and gold for the upcoming Mardi Gras Season.

LSU, opting for purple and gold, bought a large quantity of the available cloth. Tulane purchased much of the only remaining color...green (Tulane's colors are green and white)." Though the holiday of Fat Tuesday has developed over many centuries, and naturally has evolved over time, it still remains at its heart exactly what it was invented to be in the first place, one great big last party before the time of fasting and prayer.

And Fat Tuesday, Mardi Gras, remains to this day an important part not only of the economies of several countries, but also an important part of the national character and theological observance of many of the people in the world. To end this answer, here's a clip of the 2010 Mardi Gras parade in Houma, Louisiana from Saturday, February 6th, 2010. I hope that helped, dude.

Fat Tuesday is a Polish tradition in which Paczki Day is celebrated. It is most popular in the USA in Detroit, Chicago and Buffalo. It is the last day of Mardi Gras and the day before Lent Day.

On this day Paczkis, (jelly like filled donuts)are prepared in honor of this day. Bakeries all over the world make and sell several of these in the celebration of this day. http://www.flickr.com/photos/medalby/106004940.

Mardi Gras" is actually French for "Fat Tuesday" which in Catholicism is the last day before Ash Wednesday and the beginning of the 40 days (not counting Sundays) of repentance prior to Easter. The Lenten Season is supposed to be a time of reflection and self deprivation. You often hear of people "giving something up for Lent".

It's supposed to be sacrificial, something you really enjoy, for example chocolate, drinking, cigarettes, etc. So "Fat Tuesday" or "Shrove Tuesday" (as some people call it) is the final day to over-indulge in human vices, over-eating, drinking, reveling. It ends at midnight.In some cultures, Mardi Gras is actually related to Christmas. It is referred to as "Carnival" which starts on Jan. 6, 12 days after Christmas and marks the visit to the Christ Child by the three wise men (called the Epiphany).

Probably the most recognized "Carnival" is that in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The Epiphany is the beginning of a party season, culminating in Mardi Gras. The observance of a 40 day fast dates as far back as the 2nd century during which time Romans observed a time of fast and repentance which was preceded by a time period of partying.

The serving of "King's Cake" began in France in the 12th century. The cakes were round to signify the Wise Men's circular route they used to find Jesus so that King Herod would not kill the infant. A coin or bean would be hidden inside the cake and the recipient of that cake were supposed to have good fortune in the coming year.

Mardi Gras was introduced into the United States in 1699 when a French explorer named a spot at the Mississippi River "Point du Mardi Gras" in honor of the celebration happening that day in France. In the mid-1700's, Spain put an end to the revelry and the celebrations did not resume until 1827. The parades and krewes, masks, and costumes were introduced in 1872.In 1837, the official colors were chosen as green, (representing faith), gold (for power), and purple (for justice).

The making of the pancakes and cakes were a result of people trying to use up all of the fat, dairy products, and eggs before Lent. (I'm not sure if any of these photos or video will come through...I am a computer subliterate, which is a notch below illiterate.So, if they don't, it's not that I didn't read your instructions, it's just that I didn't know how to do it. Sorry.

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Fat Tuesday has it's roots in Catholic tradition as the last ho-rah before Lent Begins. It marks the end of Ordinary time between the Advent/Christmas and Lent/Easter seasons. It may have had a preChristian foundation where extra days were added to the lunar calendar to make it match up with the solar calendar and those days being outside the norm were used for URL1 may have also been a way to mark the end of Winter.

Fat Tuesday also marks the end of Carnival where traditionally a fatted calf was slaughtered and feasted upon as part of the last last day of Carnival.

Fat Tuesday also known as’’ Mardi Gras’’in french (where "Gras" is fat and "Mardi" is Tuesday) is a one day festival that is celebrated every year in Mobile, Alabama; New Orleans ;Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; Venice, Italy; 46 days before Easter or a day before Ash Wednesday(Lent). It is a day of carnival and partying. For the Christians, Fat Tuesday signifies the last day of indulging in food, drinks and other type of wild acts before the fasting begins.

The fasting or lent begins the next day which is known as Ash Wednesday. Fat Tuesday festival became popular in 1699 and was introduced into many countries by the French settlers.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yaOdxY2lYVI&feature=related http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WvT6jdfD2Hs http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A3cCzuPgCTg&feature=related 0 1 .

Fat tuesday is traditionally the day of feasting before fasting. From ash wednsday until easter, the christians would fast and pray in honor of Jesus' death and subsequent reserection.

Mardi Gras is French for Fat Tuesday. In 2010, the date for Fat Tuesday is Febuary 16th. Fat Tuesday is also the name for the last day before Lent begins when your diet is limited.It is the last day you can eat rich, fatty foods.

It is also sometimes called Shrove Tuesday. While Mardi Gras or Fat Tuesday did used to refer to just one day, it is often now used for a number of days during which a festival is held.

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Fat Tuesday, also known as Mardi Gras Fat Tuesday is an unofficial celebration that is generally recognized by those of the Catholic denomination of Christianity, or by any other group that fasts for Lent during that same time (this would exclude the Eastern and Oriental Orthodox denominations, for example, who do not generally celebrate Lent at the same time) It is celebrated on the day before Lent , the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday. It is a day where people eat gluttonous amounts of rich fatty food, drink and 'partake in sin-like behaviors Hence the name "Fat Tuesday. " it is a time to fast/give up your desires and recognize the Feast of Resurrection The Feast of Resurrection, commonly known as Easter, is on a Sunday each year, and the fast of Lent lasts 40 days, according to Catholicism.

Therefore, Lent always begins on a Wednesday followed by Fat Tuesday as an annual celebration.

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