When I hear "Mardi Gras" images of giant, brilliantly decorated floats lined with masked men tossing beads and moonpies come to mind. And rain. I think of rain because the last time I attended a Mardi Gras celebration was two years ago with some college buddies in New Orleans. We drove down on Friday and fought ridiculous traffic trying to get to the hotel. Hotels are really strict about the number of people they allow in rooms during Mardi Gras. Since we were broke college students and all sharing one room, some of us (yours truly included) had to sneak up to the room through a service entrance. After finally arriving in our room, we were ready to hit the streets of New Orleans. That evening we pranced around the city meeting people, having rabbit stew at a quaint local spot, and enjoying ourselves.
Saturday it poured buckets and buckets of rain. I think we saw part of one parade, but we were soaked to the core and basically miserable. Saturday night the rain finally stopped, and we headed to Bourbon Street to see what all the fuss was about. Incredibly packed and chaotic, we lost track of some of our group members and our phones weren't working because of the thousands of people in the area. The night turned into somewhat of a search-and-rescue mission as a few of our group members were lost and a few were over-served. Sunday rolled around and we ate some Cajun food and headed home. That weekend in New Orleans was a check off the bucket list and something I'll be happy if I never do again.
My more fonder memories of Mardi Gras are weekends spent in Mobile with friends and family enjoying the parades and festivities. For most people Mardi Gras is a cause to celebrate, have a great time with friends, get dressed up to attend a ball, and eat King's cake.
It's interesting how much the media can warp the meaning of things. That's not to say that the history of Mardi Gras isn't muddled with revelery, it is, but it's also distinctly grounded in Christianity.
Mardi Gras literally translates to "Fat Tuesday." Historically, Fat Tuesday is a day of indulgence in which Christians would slaughter and eat the fattened calf. This celebration took place at the end of Carnival and just before Lent. Carnival comes from the Latin words carne vale, "meaning farewell to flesh"or carnelevarium meaning "to take away or remove meat." Carnival likely originated in pre-Christian times, but the reason for the celebration is debated. Some believe these days were added to the lunar calendar to make it coincide with the solar calendar, and because the days were outside the calendar, people ignored rules and customs. Another theory states it was a celebration of the coming spring. Regardless of its original purpose, today, Carnival marks the period of time between the Epiphany (January 6th) and midnight on Fat Tuesday, in which Christians and nonbelievers alike feast on King's cake and ask strangers to throw them beads.
The Epiphany, 12 days after Christmas, celebrates day when the Wise Men visited the baby Jesus. This day is when King's Cake is traditionally served. The cakes are made in a circle, which represents the circular routes the Wise Men took in their travels to Bethlehem in order to confuse King Herod, who was plotting to kill Jesus. The cinnamon-swirled and icing-covered treats are an indulgence before the season of Lent, which is characterized by self-denial in preparation for Easter. Lent is one of the oldest Christian traditions, and naturally it's different today that it was in 325 AD. It began as a time of fasting to encourage self-examination and penitence. Observers ate one meal a day in the evening, which did not include meat, fish, or animal products. Gradually the rules became more relaxed and now Ash Wednesday and Good Friday are the only days on which observers fast.
Lent has become even more mainstream and many observers don't fast at all, but give up something, instead. Giving up chocolate or sweets is very common. I've heard of people giving up fast food, Facebook, wine, lying, and being lazy. Lent begins on Ash Wednesday when many people attend church services and get their foreheads marked with ashes. The ashes symbolize repentance (sackcloth and ashes) and mortality. (You are dust, and to dust you will return Gen 3:19) For the next 40 days, not including Sundays, observers part with something they enjoy, until the season ends on Easter Sunday.
So whether you're celebrating Fat Tuesday at the bar with a hurricane, eating a moonpie at the last Mardi Gras parade, or devouring chocolate for your last night for awhile, enjoy yourself. Tomorrow, put on your sackcloth and fast, or if you're into the mainstream stuff, part with a habit or indulgence for 40 days of self-denial.
OR you could make these awesome cookies for your sweetheart for Valentine's day. I wanted to post these today so as not to tempt the Lent observers. These are pretty awesome. They're chewy and bursting with chocolate-ly coconut flavor. They've got a little bit of everything: chocolate, coconut, nuts, oatmeal. It may not be covered with green, purple, and gold sprinkles but it's a decadent cookie worthy of Fat Tuesday! This recipe is modified from
Laura Bush's Texas Governor's Mansion Cowboy Cookies
3 cups flour
1tbsp baking powder
1tbsp baking soda
1 tbsp cinnamon
1 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups butter, room temp
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
3 eggs
1 tbsp vanilla
2 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
3 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
2 cups sweetened coconut flakes
1 cup chopped walnuts
Preheat oven to 350
In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt
In a second bowl, beat the butter on medium until smooth
Add the sugar and brown sugar and beat another 2 minutes
Add the eggs one at a time, beating after each addition
Mix in the vanilla
Stir in the flour mixture, blending until just combined
Add the chocolate chips, oats, coconut flakes, and walnuts and stir until incorporated
Drop by rounded tablespoon onto a parchment-lined baking sheet
Allow plenty of room between cookies because they spread
Bake 10-12 minutes until the edges are brown and set
Allow the cookies to cool on the pan 2 minutes before moving to a cooling rack
No comments:
Post a Comment