Mardi Gras, etc.

Last Saturday I attended a Mardi Gras parade. Mardi Gras was traditionally celebrated on Tuesday, the day before the season of Lent begins. The term, Mardi Gras, means fat Tuesday.

Catholics, and members of some other liturgical churches, fast during the season of Lent, which begins today. Traditionally, people who intended to fast during that season ate lots of meat, if they could get it, the day before Lent began because they wouldn't have it again for forty days. And they'd use up any foods, such as dairy products, with fat since those couldn't keep until they'd be allowed to eat them again.

Traditionally, Catholics also avoided eating meat on Fridays all year because Christ was crucified on a Friday.

As a kid when my Catholic friends avoided meat on Fridays I always wondered what eating meat had to do with the crucifixion.

Finally I learned that during the Middle Ages only the upper classes could eat meat on a regular basis. For everyone who could get it, meat was eaten at celebrations and parties. It was food for celebration and nobody would eat meat when there was a funeral or other sad event.

That's why people in those churches don't eat meat while observing the season before the Crucifixion of Christ.

Pretzels

Pretzels are a good snack, and healthier than most because they don't contain fats or sugars. They're also easy to take along to eat away from home.

According to legend, pretzels were invented hundreds of years ago as a treat for choir boys during Lent. I guess treats were normally given as a sort of Behavior Modification technique to keep the boys' behavior under control, but during the season before Easter all Christians fasted and sweets were not allowed.

In one monastery someone had the idea of creating a sort of bread that resembled arms crossed over the breast, the usual position for praying in those days. The crisp and salty breads were tasty enough so the choir boys would consider them a reward worth behaving for, but still had the spiritual aspect of reminding them to pray.

The pretzels were so good they were soon made by Christians everywhere as a lenten food.

I don't know if the story of their origin is true or not, but in some churches and families pretzels are still given to children today as a reminder to pray during the 40 days preceding Easter.