Two directly related special days on the Christian calendar. Seems to me western society has done well with Mardi Gras (a.k.a. Shrove Tuesday, Fat Tuesday, Pancake Day) and placed Ash Wednesday (the beginning of lent) on the far back burner.
Not that either of these are strictly biblical days. They stem from long standing Christian traditions and are not mandated or designated in the Bible. However, the ideas presented in them have some significance for consideration.
The idea of Mardi Gras was to have a high-spirited time of enjoyment and feasting on fattier, richer foods before Ash Wednesday. For some, it became the day they could get away with many sins since they were going to repent the next day. Hence, the festival in New Orleans and all that goes with it.
Ash Wednesday marked the beginning of Lent, a period of fasting, repentance, and humbling oneself in preparation for Easter. It lasts 40 days (not including the Sundays), which ties in with several Biblical references to 40 days of fasting and repentance. The significance of the ashes comes from the Bible when people put ashes on themselves as a sign of repentance and humbling oneself.
Aside from the most traditionally devout, we all pretty well celebrate pancake day and ignore the repentance of Ash Wednesday. Instead of erring on the side of restraint and repentance, our society errs on the side of excess and sensuality. I suspect few people today contemplate Ash Wesdnesday and Lent while eating their generous doses of pancakes on the day before.
I don’t personally practice Ash Wednesday in any literal fashion. It, too, can become a meaningless religious activity without impact on the heart. My question is: what is impacting the heart? The pig-out or the repentance?
