Photo: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mardi_Gras_in_New_Orleans
Welcome back to The Sunstone Way.
I’ve said before that New Orleans is one of my favorite cities. Next week, it will be one of that city’s most famous days of the year – Mardi Gras.
What do you think of when you hear Mardi Gras? Parties, parades and beads, right? Well, it’s a little, make that a lot, more than that.
Fat Tuesday
Specifically, Mardi Gras is the day before Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent in the Christian tradition. Most of the big parties happen on the weekend before that day, also called Fat Tuesday and Shrove Tuesday. The entire Carnival season stretches from January to that Tuesday.
Mardi Gras is French for Fat Tuesday, and Fat Tuesday is just that – it is the last day to eat fat and other treats before beginning the 40 days of Lent. Lent, in turn, leads to Good Friday and Easter.
A lesser-known name for Mardi Gras is Pancake Day – eating pancakes and hosting pancake breakfasts are other traditions. And then there are the parades.
The New Orleans Way
Mardi Gras parades can happen throughout Carnival, with the largest and most elaborate taking place on Mardi Gras or the weekend before. Social societies called Krewes organize and put on parades in New Orleans and other Southern cities.
The first krewe, the Mistic Krewe of Comus, was formed in the early 19th Century in New Orleans. Krewe members pay dues to pay for the parade and the building of floats. Members buy their own throws – the famous beads and coins thrown from the floats.
Some krewes are huge – more than 1,000 members – while others are small and exclusive. Other components of the parades include bands and Samba dancers.
Prepare For Lent
According to Christian tradition, Lent is the 40 days before the crucifixion (Good Friday) and resurrection (Easter) of Jesus Christ. It is supposed to be a time of prayer, fasting and charity.
The 40 days comes from the 40 days Jesus spent fasting and being tempted by Satan in the desert while preparing for his public ministry. These days, it is typical to give something up for those 40 days that you truly miss – sweets, eating meat, watching YouTube videos.
That small sacrifice is designed to give us a glimpse at the great sacrifice Jesus was preparing for of giving his life on the cross.
Wider Significance
Many who are not active Christians still practice Lent by giving something up for those 40 days. It might be a matter of doing something for our own good like adjusting our diet, or finding more productive ways to spend our time.
Did you know that experts say it takes most people 30 days to establish new habits? Even if you start having a bowl of ice cream once a week or so after Lent, that’s better than that every night bowl you are eating now.
I look to Lent to help me make a habit of sacrificing for the greater good. It might be giving something up for the good of my body’s health. It might be spending more time with my family. It might be focusing on ways to help my community.
Strong Motivation
When my body gets healthier, I get happier. When I spend time with my family, I get happier. When my community is a little better place, I get happier because I’m a part of it.
Working for the greater good, even if that means sacrifices, is what I, and so many of us, have been taught as the right thing to do. To mangle a well-worn phrase, an improving community improves all community members, including us.
That’s strong motivation. And it is The Sunstone Way.
Remember to always be a Sunstone!
John Keisler
CEO & Managing Partner
Sunstone Management, Inc.
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