Carnival went on for several weeks preceding Lent. The word itself, from the Italian carne vale, meant farewell to meat, from which good Christians were to abstain during the 40 day Lenten fast; in France it climaxed in the Mardi Gras. It persisted in Protestant countries also. It was a time for big eating and heavy drinking, and for general merrymaking and foolery. Comical processions marched through the streets. Farces were performed, and mock sermons delivered. Young men showed their strengths in tugs-of-war, footraces and a rough-and-tumble kind of football. A common theme was what was called in England the world turned upside down. Men and women put on each others clothing. Horses were made to move backward with the rider facing the tail. Little street dramas showed the servant giving orders to the master, the judge sitting in the stocks, the pupil beating the teacher, or the husband holding the baby while the wife clutched a gun. In general, the carnival was a time for defying custom and ridiculing authority. It is hard to know how much such outbursts were expressions of genuine resentments, and how much they were only a form of play. They could indeed, be both.
welcome to the 21st century AINT IT GRAND?!
err.. woot
Accually Seattle has a Mardi Gras as well...
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Iulius Kæsar attempted to be funny by writing:
Hey, at least we don't have to worry about the Plague.err.. woot
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Check out the big brain on RottingMind!
http://www.cnn.com/2002/HEALTH/11/07/ny.plague/index.html
Shit, beat me to it
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A sleep deprived JooJooFlop stammered:
Arn't you allowed to eat fish during Lent?
Yes. Seafood is allowed because it is not considered meat. The only thing that might be mistakened as seafood is gator.
