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OK, it was a surprise. We had been getting ready for the Day allocated to the romatic memory of a Saint named Valentine. There is peril in forgetting it, depending on the variety of romantic partnerships, so you have still have time to rectify the provisions of “Elederly Forgetfulness,” a disability that seems to be widespread these days in high and lower positions.
They have been doing “Mardi Gras” for a month down in N’Awlins. You may have been there for some of the festivities, since this is not only an ecclesiastical holiday but a money-making holiday in Louisiana. We had an outpost nearby in Mississippi in a place called Pass Christian and had considered setting up the Headquarters there. There was a refreshing crowd of refugee ladies of appropriated age and some real possibilities for all sorts of mischief, but after Ash Wednesday, things seemed to get moister and warmer and parking in Mardi Gras makes dedicated celebrations a challenge. We drifted back Up North with regret, looking for a climate that split the difference between “tolerable” for about half. the year and miserable for the remainder.
That is what wound us up in Virginia, which is equally miserable in all times of the year. That was the discussion this morning, since it seemed like Spring over the weekend and we are trapped under a freshet of snow on the patio this Tuesday. We are hoping it doesn’t stick, although the seat of our slim-fit straight Levis are soaked and chilly. That left indoor time for decorating, which is seasonal and elegant, as opposed to slush.
Here is the educational part that makes this edition of The Daily worthwhile for general edification. The French term is “Mardi,” or their word for Tuesdays, and “Gras,” which is more “rotund” than the ordinary “fat” we use here. Or better, “there,” since in Novo Orleans it is warm and they are already drinking with breakfast. So, you can see how Fat Tuesday lurched from a foreign language phrase into a more understandable, if less elegant, English one. It is now, in either form, the traditional name for the day before Ash Wednesday which we can also phrase as “mercredi des Cendres.” For reasons best known to Parisians, they do not capitalize the first letter of the days of the week. It is a little weird, since the proper spelling for today would be “mardi Gras,” with the fat part emphasized.
Tomorrow would the first day of Lent in our Western Christian churches, including the both the Roman Catholic and Protestant churches. So, that gives us two holidays widely recognized by the globe’s largest aggregation of religions (2.42 billion adherents). We can augment a third one you likely have not celebrated lately unless you are a devotee of Lent in the Eastern more Orthodox congregations. The term they use is “Clean Monday.” We naturally respect that, although there are other more poetic and spiritual terms we could use about tomorrow, like: Pure Monday, Ash Monday, Monday of Lent or Green Monday. We could even lurch back into a foreign tongue and call it “Lundi Pur.”
Whichever you choose, yesterday can be the first day of Great Lent and is a moveable feast, falling on the sixth Monday before Easter which begins Holy Week, preceding Pascha Sunday. We have elected to go with the Western tradition so we cn be in a more raucous mood today, Under those terms, we will honor tomorrow along with some dignified romantic acknowledgement as we also mark the start of Lent, in which abstain from something for the 46 days until Easter, or Pascha Dimanche.
Our more Eastern neighbors are already there, but they have not disclosed what they are giving up. We considered giving up something we have not already had for breakfast, a crucial indicator of mental acuity. We try to keep it linear, and last year dispensed with the letter “A.” We chose “Arancini, a savory Italian snack made from leftover risotto formed into balls, stuffed with cheese or meat, coated in breadcrumbs, and fried until crispy. That gets us past anything starting with “Al – – – – l,” on the grounds that tax season’s stress is still coming up.
To avoid giving up anything crucial, we have moved on to things that start with “B.” This year it is broccoli, for us with discussion about covering both language versions on both days with a nice béchamel fromage, which avoids the letter “C” until next year. Cauliflower can stand by for a few months. We have no idea what the Easterners are doing, but we will try to keep the noise down on the Patio out of respect. We think we are ready for FAT TUESDAY, capitalizing both words in their entirety.
How are you doing?
Copyright 2024 Vic Socotra
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