Ash Wednesday's Rowdy Precedent

Fat Tuesday, Carnival, Shrove Tuesday, Mardi Gras


1Corinthians 15:32

If with merely human hopes I fought with wild animals at Ephesus, what would I have gained by it? If the dead are not raised,

“Let us eat and drink,
for tomorrow we die.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Oh the Mardi Gras, the memories,
Of creole tunes that fills the air
I dream of Oleander's in June
And soon I'm wishin' that I were there

Do you know what it means to miss New Orleans
Since that's where you left your heart
And there's something more, I miss the one I care for
More than I miss New Orleans

"Do You Know What It Means to Miss New Orleans" by Louis Armstrong. This recording does not match the commonly found lyrics for this song. This version is from the 1956 Chicago concert.

Fat Tuesday, Carnival, Shrove Tuesday, Mardi Gras--four different phrases pointing to one thing, one last blowout before Lent. In some places, Shrove Tuesday is a time to rid the household of fats and oils before Lent and it's focus on denial and pertinence. The main order of the day is a Pancake supper. It effectively rids the house of fats, oils and sugars, and bacon. In other places like Rio de Janeiro it's a bacchanalia that would make Hugh Hefner blush. Ah but New Orleans, New Orleans...

Louis Armstrong sang "Do You Know What It Means to Miss New Orleans." Wishin' that I were there... While Rio has a tradition that eclipses N'awlins, Americans do love le Quartier Français and Rue Bourbon, and who can blame them. That's a party. It's a party until midnight when the police clear the streets, when Mardi Gras yields itself to Lent.

Mardi Gras, where people take “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die” as a personal challenge.

But with only human hopes, without a view toward the eternal, what is life? What is death? They are nothing. Nothing at all. Without God, with only human ambition, we are nothing. With only human meaning all Mardi Gras gives us is lust, gluttony, pride, sloth, and wrath. That's only greed and envy away from the Heavy Seven.

Well, I'm not going to say folks don't need a blowout from time to time. Though scripture has only bad things to say about drunkenness, especially as a way of life. Since Carnival can go from Twelfth Night to Mardi Gras, that's a bit too long for a party. But enjoy Mardi Gras. Enjoy the party. Have a flap jack. Enjoy a Hurricane, unless you can't handle your booze then don't. Just go people watching and have a wonderful time. But remember, Ash Wednesday is tomorrow, and that's a whole new ballgame.

That's what it means to miss the One I care for more than I miss New Orleans.