As a Catholic from New Orleans, Happy Mardi Gras. Mardi Gras (a.k.a., Fat Tuesday) is the day before Lent. Lent is a solemn religious observance that begins on Ash Wednesday and ends approximately 40 days later, before Easter Sunday. During Lent, many Catholics commit to fasting, as well as "giving up" certain luxuries to "replicate the sacrifice of Jesus Christ's journey into the desert for 40 days." As the day before, Mardi Gras is the last chance to cut loose and celebrate before the period of sacrifice begins. As such, fun and merriment are intentionally overdone.
The Rock Boat had a Mardi Gras theme night. Just a day before boarding, my wife and I were walking down Decatur ST in New Orleans and saw a suit on a mannequin outside of a novelty shop. Since I needed something for the cruise, I bought it. I wore it on the ship and to work today to get two wearings out of it.
In addition to dressing in costume, another part of the Mardi Gras tradition is King Cake.
King Cake gets its name from Christ the King. Each cake has a small plastic baby Jesus randomly hidden inside.
Whoever gets the piece with the baby has to host the next King Cake party.
The official Mardi Gras colors for New Orleans are gold, green, and purple. Can you tell?
Merriment is alive in the lab.
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