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What Festival Does Fat Tuesday Mark?
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You might have found holidays marked in red on calendars. This is to
say that all Red Letter Days are days of some importance or
significance. Let’s quickly run through some lesser know festivals
around the world.
Ash Wednesday, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday and Easter Sunday are
all familiar terms. But what is Fat Tuesday and when or where
is it celebrated? What is its history? If you are familiar with Lent, the forty-day
penance period for Christians that begins with Ash Wednesday, then
you may know that Fat Tuesday is the day prior to Ash Wednesday. It
is better known as Shrove Tuesday or Mardi Gras, which literally
means Fat Tuesday. Lent is observed in commemoration of the days
spent in wilderness by Jesus Christ.
Legend has it that the day came to be known
so because of the practice of parading a fat ox through the streets
of Paris on Shrove Tuesday, sort of reminder to the people to
abstain from meat and dairy products during Lent. In Ponti (Italy),
it is said that a gigantic omelette, made from thousand eggs, is
eaten on the Friday before Lent. |
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Fat Tuesday is called Mardi Gras in France, Pancake Day in
Britain (housewives would makes pancakes with any remaining flour
and eggs in the house), Fastnacht (or the night of the Fast)
in Germany and as a carnival in Italy and other Catholic
countries.
There are carnival floats and a special Carnival King presides over
the floats. In some places, the carnival is a boisterous affair with
dancing, fireworks and masquerades and lasts for about a fortnight.
The most spectacular carnivals are said to be held in Rio de Janeiro
(Brazil) and New Orleans (USA).
Kite festivals
The ninth day of the ninth month in the Chinese calendar is a day of
special importance to them. It is an opportunity to let off the
effects of one’s sins. And how do the Chinese do it? On the
auspicious day, the Feast of the High Flight, or Teng Kao, is
celebrated by flying gaily-colored kites. Both the young and the
old enthusiastically participate in the festival.
At the end of the day, in a significant gesture, the kites are cut
loose and allowed to fly away wherever the winds would take them.
This severing is believed to signify that the participant has been
absolved of the sins committed during the past year.
The Japanese celebrate a kite festival on May 5. Known as Tango
No Sekku, which means the Festival of Boys, the occasion is
marked by flying giant sized kites depicting red and black carps.
The carp is believed to be a symbol of manliness and the festival is
an appeal to the gods to confer the young boys with strength, vigor
and courage.
In India, Sankranti marks the festival of kites in many parts
of the country. The season marks the onset of spring, and in the
southern part of India it also marks the harvest season. The color
and gaiety attached to the festival signify the happiness and
prosperity of the people. |
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