Catholic Mardi Gras.
Carnival season, meaning the season in which we celebrate by eating meat, begins on January 6th with the Feast of the Epiphany and concludes on Fat Tuesday, the day before Ash Wednesday. It is a long lost fact of history that Mardi Gras and Carnival Season is Catholic.
This season is the celebration of the Epiphany, which is the manifestation of the invisible God in the Visible world. It is called Carnival from the practice of us believers of eating all the meat and sugar in the weeks following Christmas so that come the Great Fast of Lent, there is no temptation to feast left in the house.
The floats in the Mardi Gras Parades would traditionally be built to represent the pagan gods, yet they would be 'boarded' by the Christians who would throw their treasures to the Christians in the streets below. This would symbolize the newly visible God was the Lord of lords and God of gods. That the Christian God was indeed to the Master of all the cosmos.
The king-cake is a symbol and a tribute to the Epiphany of the Lord. The round shape represents the eternal nature of God. The three colors and traditions 3 stranded braid represent the Blessed Trinity of God. Each of the three colors represent aspects of Christ, as well. Purple stands for the Justice the new-born Christ child brings into the world. Green stands for the Faith He calls each of us to in His birth. Finally, the Gold stands for His reign as King of the Universe, the rule he hold over all creation. The search for the small plastic baby inside the cake represents the three wise men’s search for the Christ child. Upon finding the baby, the luck person throws the next party to have a King-cake, because what do you do when you find Christ? You celebrate and invite others to come to find Christ as well.
This Carnival Season, celebrate with the gumption of your Christian Faith. Celebrate the reality that God has been made known to us. Use this season to allow God's revelation of Christmas morning to solidify more firmly within you. Live your Faith, such that people see it. Celebrate your Faith such that it brings you joy. Love your Faith such that it becomes the center of your life. Be the person of Joy and Faith such that other want what you have.
Happy Mardi Gras!