“If Ever I Cease to Love” is the song synonymous with Mardi Gras. It goes something like this: “May sheeps heads grow on apple trees, if ever I cease to love, may I be stung to death with flies, if ever I cease to love.” Silly? Yes. But we might add to the lyrics of the song, “if ever I cease to learn.”
Borrowing from other culture’s traditions is a fantastic way to embrace community and continue to learn while having fun.
Join Central in Fellowship Hall on March 3rd following morning worship as the congregation and guests celebrate Mardi Gras.
Sample Creole and Cajun foods, find the Baby Jesus in a King Cake and enjoy pralines just like Aunt Sally made. Second line dancing and Zydeco music will add to the festive occasion. These are all traditions of Mardi Gras.
Mardi Gras is the last day of “carnival season” and the last celebration before Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent. Translated, Mardi Gras means “Fat Tuesday.” On Fat Tuesday, pantries are cleared of food that will not be eaten during Lent and would spoil during the 40 days of fasting. Foods like milk, eggs and oil that are used in pancakes needed to be eaten rather than going to waste, so pancakes were often served the night before Ash Wednesday. Thus the term—Pancake Tuesday. Churches around town often host pancake suppers on Fat Tuesday.
Another name for Tuesday preceding Ash Wednesday is Shrove Tuesday. Shrove comes from the old middle English word 'Shriven' meaning to go to confession to say sorry for the wrong things you've done.
Purple, green and gold are the official colors of the celebration. Purple represents justice, green represents faith and gold represents power. Rex, Latin for king, is King of Carnival. Rex is actually an organization established in the 1800’s to organize the Mardi Gras celebration in New Orleans which includes the famous parade. Legend says that King Rex has issued a proclamation commanding his subjects to gather and join in the festivities.
As you can see, all these traditions have meaning and history, and they all lead to Easter, the holiest of celebrations in the Christian Faith.
Join Central in the sanctuary at 11 a.m. Sunday morning and plan to stay and bring a guest for this beautiful celebration. All are welcome!