Life Meets Faith: Biggest parties on the planet
Unlike Quebec City, New Orleans, Sydney,
Port of Spain and Rio de Janeiro, the city of
London is not known for its Mardi Gras. On a
list of the biggest bashes on the planet, Mardi
Gras festivals must rank among the top.
Mardi Gras takes place 40 days before Easter, the Christian celebration of Jesus rising from the dead. What's the connection between the 40 days, called Lent, and Mardi Gras? Europeans in the Middle Ages fasted or gave something up and spent more time in prayer during those 40 days. Meat and dairy products, among other things, were discouraged.
So, before you went through this period of slight deprivation, you ate. This eventually evolved into the elaborate parades which today are, more or less, completely detached from their religious roots.
Here in Canada, instead of partying like there's no tomorrow, people eat pancakes. I know, it's a tough choice - party or pancakes - but bear with me. You might have attended a Shrove Tuesday pancake supper last week, or you might have seen signs for one outside a local church.
You could say that Shrove Tuesday is the English version of Mardi Gras. Mardi Gras is the thing in the more Catholic, non-English parts of the planet. Where the English settled, bringing with them the Church of England, it was Shrove Tuesday. Both are a feast of sorts before Lent begins.
The thing I want to point out is regarding Shrove Tuesday. Shrove comes from the word "shrive" and it means to confess. To confess your sins. On Shrove Tuesday you confess your sins so that you can enter Lent, a (more) holy time, with a clearer conscience and a greater awareness of God.
I'm not sure how many readers of the Interrobang spent time confessing sins last week. Staff and students of Fanshawe College are not famous for the confession of sins. Depending on how you look at it, we are probably more well known for bragging about them.
But, certainly any one in the college or the city who have a Christian understanding of life know about confession of sin. Although the way it is done differs, all branches of Christianity, including Baptist, Anglican, Catholic, Reformed and Pentecostal, recommend the confession of sin.
It's a non-negotiable part of life as a Christian. You know you do wrong, so you have to own up to it as much as you can. You ask God to forgive you and, as much as possible, you ask the people you offended to forgive you. Most people find it easier to ask God for forgiveness than people, but we can leave that alone for now.
Being told that we are sinners can seem like a downer, as some would say, a buzz-kill. Not exactly a strategy to build self-esteem, others would say. Totally regressive, according to some therapists.
But, is there an up side to admitting sin and confessing it? I think so. For example, if World War II war mongers had been willing to admit they were sinners, the 1930s and '40s would possibly have looked a little different. If the ruling elites of Libya, Egypt, Somalia, the Congo, Haiti and other failed states were to confess their sins - building torture houses and using rape as a weapon of war, for example - rather than continue in them, the people of those places might be happier.
If people who take advantage of people sexually, who spend weekends getting wasted or cheat during exams were to confess that something is amiss, there might be fewer "train wrecks," wasted opportunities and failed careers. If company CEOs and Canadian politicians were to confess more often that sometimes they say and do the wrong things rather than posture as if they have it all together, Parliament might be a more civil place and our company boardrooms might be healthier environments for real conversations.
You may have missed Shrove Tuesday. But the 40 days of Lent are still going on. And whether or not any of us opts for a clear observance of such days is not exactly the point. The real point is that knowing sin and confessing it is, as they say, good for the soul, and a whole lot more.
Editorial opinions or comments expressed in this online edition of Interrobang newspaper reflect the views of the writer and are not those of the Interrobang or the Fanshawe Student Union. The Interrobang is published weekly by the Fanshawe Student Union at 1001 Fanshawe College Blvd., P.O. Box 7005, London, Ontario, N5Y 5R6 and distributed through the Fanshawe College community. Letters to the editor are welcome. All letters are subject to editing and should be emailed. All letters must be accompanied by contact information. Letters can also be submitted online by clicking here.
Mardi Gras takes place 40 days before Easter, the Christian celebration of Jesus rising from the dead. What's the connection between the 40 days, called Lent, and Mardi Gras? Europeans in the Middle Ages fasted or gave something up and spent more time in prayer during those 40 days. Meat and dairy products, among other things, were discouraged.
So, before you went through this period of slight deprivation, you ate. This eventually evolved into the elaborate parades which today are, more or less, completely detached from their religious roots.
Here in Canada, instead of partying like there's no tomorrow, people eat pancakes. I know, it's a tough choice - party or pancakes - but bear with me. You might have attended a Shrove Tuesday pancake supper last week, or you might have seen signs for one outside a local church.
You could say that Shrove Tuesday is the English version of Mardi Gras. Mardi Gras is the thing in the more Catholic, non-English parts of the planet. Where the English settled, bringing with them the Church of England, it was Shrove Tuesday. Both are a feast of sorts before Lent begins.
The thing I want to point out is regarding Shrove Tuesday. Shrove comes from the word "shrive" and it means to confess. To confess your sins. On Shrove Tuesday you confess your sins so that you can enter Lent, a (more) holy time, with a clearer conscience and a greater awareness of God.
I'm not sure how many readers of the Interrobang spent time confessing sins last week. Staff and students of Fanshawe College are not famous for the confession of sins. Depending on how you look at it, we are probably more well known for bragging about them.
But, certainly any one in the college or the city who have a Christian understanding of life know about confession of sin. Although the way it is done differs, all branches of Christianity, including Baptist, Anglican, Catholic, Reformed and Pentecostal, recommend the confession of sin.
It's a non-negotiable part of life as a Christian. You know you do wrong, so you have to own up to it as much as you can. You ask God to forgive you and, as much as possible, you ask the people you offended to forgive you. Most people find it easier to ask God for forgiveness than people, but we can leave that alone for now.
Being told that we are sinners can seem like a downer, as some would say, a buzz-kill. Not exactly a strategy to build self-esteem, others would say. Totally regressive, according to some therapists.
But, is there an up side to admitting sin and confessing it? I think so. For example, if World War II war mongers had been willing to admit they were sinners, the 1930s and '40s would possibly have looked a little different. If the ruling elites of Libya, Egypt, Somalia, the Congo, Haiti and other failed states were to confess their sins - building torture houses and using rape as a weapon of war, for example - rather than continue in them, the people of those places might be happier.
If people who take advantage of people sexually, who spend weekends getting wasted or cheat during exams were to confess that something is amiss, there might be fewer "train wrecks," wasted opportunities and failed careers. If company CEOs and Canadian politicians were to confess more often that sometimes they say and do the wrong things rather than posture as if they have it all together, Parliament might be a more civil place and our company boardrooms might be healthier environments for real conversations.
You may have missed Shrove Tuesday. But the 40 days of Lent are still going on. And whether or not any of us opts for a clear observance of such days is not exactly the point. The real point is that knowing sin and confessing it is, as they say, good for the soul, and a whole lot more.
Editorial opinions or comments expressed in this online edition of Interrobang newspaper reflect the views of the writer and are not those of the Interrobang or the Fanshawe Student Union. The Interrobang is published weekly by the Fanshawe Student Union at 1001 Fanshawe College Blvd., P.O. Box 7005, London, Ontario, N5Y 5R6 and distributed through the Fanshawe College community. Letters to the editor are welcome. All letters are subject to editing and should be emailed. All letters must be accompanied by contact information. Letters can also be submitted online by clicking here.
