Athena Wishes You a Groovy Mardi Gras
Posted on February 16, 2010 Posted by John Scalzi 31 Comments
“Don’t forget to give up something for Lent!”
Athena would also like to thank Whatever reader (and Krewe of Morpheus member) Charles K. Bradley for the Mardi Gras shirt and mask. They have been much admired around these here parts.
Interesting…. I wonder why people who do not have a religious bone in their body would participate in something such as Lent?
I kinda feel that if you’re partying your brains out on Mardi Gras, you should at least nod in the direction of Lent. But that’s just me.
John @ 2:
That seems fair to me.
For Lent this year, I’m going to give up self-denial.
I’m giving up celibacy for Lent.
I gave up Mardi Gras for Lent, but it’s a long story.
If I can get around to it, I’m going to give up procrastination for Lent.
Lent eh? I love lent. I’m an atheist, so I get to play “red team” for all my religious friends.
“No? No ice cream for you? Are you sure? It’s cloudy, I’m sure the big guy isn’t watching. Just have a taste.”
I gave up being Catholic for Lent many years ago, and that seemed to work best.
Laissez les bons temps rouler!
Traditionally, “Fat Tuesday” is when you use up all the fat and eggs in your house (because there was a time period when you weren’t supposed to have either around for Lent.) Basically this translates to pancakes for dinner.
A lot of adult Catholics use Lent as a time of giving up bad habits, such as criticism, or for trying to develop good habits. If you’d like to take such a challenge, I suggest smoking as a good thing to give up, or negative thoughts about yourself.
A few years back, my area gave up the sun for Lent. The pity was that Easter came and went and we still didn’t have sunshine…
ben@7 – completely agree – if the only time one can ‘sacrifice’ is Lent, being a tempter at that time is more fun!
Tim@8 – did that informally at age 10 and formally at 14 – it’s just logical to me.
But I do like the bright colors in Athena’s shirt and mask – they suit her sunny personality.
@7 ben: that’s too funny!! I wish you well in your lent endevour!
I think I’m going to give up celibacy and sobriety for Lent.
For Lent this year I’m giving up.
I gave up procrastination; but I’d been procrastinating going up in the attic and pulling a bunch of surround sound and TV antenna wires.
Plus side, I now have 4.0 surround sound working (need 6 more inches of slack in the 5th channel, and the woofer just needs to be plugged in), and I can see the local channel the Olympics are on again.
On the minus side, 4 hrs up in a attic small enough I have to crawl everywhere means a nice set of new bruises and bumps and sore muscles.
But hey, the Olympic ice skating couples competition? That was worth the sore.
I think my favorite lent was when a college buddy of mine gave up coke for a month (He’s a programmer, so giving up coke is like giving up life). He powered through it, though it wasn’t easy. Only then did he realize that he’d started almost exactly one month early. Only one month to go…
Thank you John for the shout out! I had a wounderful ride this past Friday night in the Morpheus parade. It was a little cold so I had my longjohns and ski mask on this year. I was on float #10 titled Little Red Riding Hood. The crowds along the route were HUGE this year! I think we are back to pre-Katrina levels. The Saints wining the Super Bowl this year helps I’m sure. I just came home from downtown after watching the Zulu and Rex parades and some of the truck floats.
I will observe my traditional end of Carnival tonight by watching the meeting of the courts of Rex and Comus and eating chocolate moon pies and drinking cheap champagne!!
As for Ash Wednesday I’ll go to noon mass for my ashes and then go with the family to Achme Oyster House in the French Quarter for a seafood lunch (remember NO Meat on Ash Wednesday or Good Friday!!) I’ve not decided yet what to do for Lent this year. I think I’ll give up using curse words for Lent.
I really love it that Athena likes here Mardi Gras gifts. Don’t worry, I have a Mardi Gras package for you and Krissy ready and will mail it soon.
I hope everone has a great Mardi Gras today and a wounderful Lenten season.
Mardi Gras is on March 8th next year and I have a St. Patrick’s Day parade ride to look forward to!!!
John,
I forgot to say thanks for putting the Krewe of Morpheus website on Whatever! We are a Krewe of Males and Females and everyone is welcome to become a member of the fastest growing club in Mardi Gras. We have memebrs from California and New Jersey on my float!
Bearpaw @ 3: I am so stealing that.
Meat comes from animals.
Fish are animals.
Fish is meat.
I’d like to give up Being Snowed On for Lent.
Did you get some King cake too?
@20 In the world the rest of us live in, yes, fish is meat, but in Catholic theology it isn’t. I don’t pretend to understand this, I just know that fried haddock is Kosher For Husband On Fridays During Lent.
(Of course, so is vegetarian Thai food, so I imagine we’ll be eating out a bit the next few weeks.)
And a happy Mardi Gras to the Scalzi family as well. We’ve been celebrating here for a solid two weeks, with a crescendo starting about a week ago, when the Saints paraded downtown. Tomorrow is going to be a shock to the liver for a lot of folks in the Crescent City.
Is Athena giving up school for Lent or do you think the snow will melt and/or be plowed before Easter?
can i give up snow for Lent ?
Giving up lent for lent.
Apologies if this offends our host’s sensibilities, but it’s a rather amusing one I heard once:
Some of us who went to religious school would try to give up masturbation for Lent, which is how Palm Sunday got its name.
I’m going to give up helpless swimmers for Lent.
I need a challenge: For the next month, they’re allowed to fight back.
In the world the rest of us live in, yes, fish is meat, but in Catholic theology it isn’t.
Actually, it’s a distinction that’s observed in Judaism as well—you can serve fish and milk together, which is what gives us the wonder of bagels and lox with a schmear.
But if you catch me on the right evening, I will tell you about translating letters in the Quebec archdiocesan archive about whether muskrats and beavers are meat or fish for the purposes of Lenten fasting.
Well, I went to mardi gras in Galveston and I ended up with a bruised knee and a bruised hip. I have no idea where my beads went, and I’m just now getting over my hangover. I’m just going to give up.