Shrove Tuesday

Like many Catholic holidays and seasonal celebrations, it likely its roots date back to pre-Christian traditions based on the seasons. Some believe the Carnevale festival represented the few days added to the lunar calendar to make it coincide with the solar calendar; since these days were outside the calendar, rules and customs were not obeyed. Others see it as a late-winter celebration designed to welcome the coming spring. As early as the middle of the second century, the Romans observed a Fast of 40 Days, which was preceded by a brief season of feasting, costumes and merrymaking. The word Carnevale comes from the word "carne," which means meat and "vale," which means "it is allowed." Carnevale was the final hurrah as winter headed towards spring, and the long Lenten season of fasting and abstinence was observed. It was, perhaps, not only a last chance to indulge the passions of the flesh, but an opportunity to consume any meat which might not stay fresh enough for consumption until spring.

For many Italians in our community "Shove Tuesday" or Fat Tuesday represents the end of the seven fat days or festivities. On this day before the start of Lent, you suppress temptation by consuming those delicacies that you can't eat over the next 40 days of fasting. So basically it's one last big hoopla before we head into the Easter Season in which we remember Christ's crucifiction and celebrate His resurrection. I've never really understood the whole Fat Tuesday ideology, but for many Italians, it just marks the beginning of observing the remembrance of what Jesus gave up on the cross. So if that is the real reason for all of the festivities... I'm all for it...