The history of mardi-gras

Known all over the world, this celebration is very meaningful for many people.

However, many of you do not know the history and meaning of this holiday.
In this article, you will find everything you need to know about Fat Tuesday.

Mardi Gras, a story full of meaning

Shrove Tuesday is primarily a Roman pagan holiday meant to celebrate the end of winter.
This festival refers to the last "fat" meals eaten before Lent and precedes Ash Wednesday.
This celebration always takes place at the end of the 7 fattening days and 47 days before Easter.
Shrove Tuesday therefore actually opens the Easter period and thus the beginning of the fast for Christians.

Fat Tuesday, as its name indicates, refers to rich and fatty foods such as butter, sugar etc. Their consumption is therefore de rigueur: copious meals and sweet desserts, it is the most greedy day of the year.

Carnival and Mardi Gras

Carnival takes place the week before Fat Tuesday, and is a time when the people of a city go out in costume to the streets to dance, sing and march in a parade.

In Christianity, Carnival represents the week celebrating fatty foods before the beginning of Lent, when Christians must abstain from rich foods such as meat, sugar and dairy products.
Fat Tuesday is the last day of the carnival.

Disguises and fun are therefore required for the most festive among you.

When you say "mardi-gras", you say hearty and delicious meal!
For Shrove Tuesday, and for the happiness of the greediest among you, the tradition wants you to eat pancakes, waffles and doughnuts!

Shrove Tuesday around the world

Shrove Tuesday takes place all over the world, but the celebration is not always called that:

In Denmark, Fat Tuesday or its equivalent is called Fastelavn.
And in Finland, Laskiainen.

In Estonia, Shrove Tuesday is called Vastlapäev.
This celebration is associated with family activities and / or friends as sledding.
In the evening, as tradition dictates, a bowl of pea soup with ham is served for dinner.

In Russia, Pancake Week is celebrated.
It is to be celebrated seven weeks before Easter and preceding the Great Orthodox Lent.

In Sweden, the tradition is to eat a semla.
It is a brioche with cream and almond paste.

Finally, in Canada and the United States, Shrove Tuesday is also commonly called "Pancake Tuesday".
On this day of celebration, churches offer breakfasts (including pancakes) and in some cases solicit charitable contributions.

The difference between Candlemas and Mardi Gras

Candlemas is also a religious holiday.
However, unlike Fat Tuesday, its date is always set on February 2.

Candlemas closes the Christmas cycle by celebrating the presentation of Jesus in the temple, 40 days after his birth.
In the Christian religion, every year on this date, pilgrims organized a procession to Rome.
Candles were lit and blessed along the way to protect homes.

The tradition of pancakes for Candlemas came later, indeed they reward the pilgrims after their long walk and their efforts.


And that's it! Now you know everything there is to know about Shrove Tuesday!