Party on Mardi Gras like there is a tomorrow, because that tomorrow is Ash Wednesday, and you’ve been partying for weeks, and you still got some wild in you before you cage that beast and give it all up. This is you final night of feasting on fattening foods and funning. Do you need a reason, or just an excuse? A party at Tuesday Night Folk Dancing will be the least of your sins.
TNFD Party on March 4, 2025, 7:30 PM – 9:30 PM
Expect a D iversity of dances with E quity among Oldies and new favorites, I ncluding party breaks for mingling, and A ccessible, easy dances for new folks.
Just in case there is someone reading this who doesn’t know, “Mardi Gras” is the French term for “Fat Tuesday,” which is the day before Ash Wednesday, when observant Christians begin fasting for Lent, in preparation for Easter. The liturgical name for the day is “Shrove Tuesday.” But, because the day is the chance before the fast to eat foods containing rich, fatty ingredients, such as eggs, milk, sugar, butter, cheese, and flesh meats—foods that make you fat—and you are storing up lots of calories for that fast, the moniker “Fat Tuesday” was coined by the laity (of course that was originally in France as “Mardi Gras”). While Mardi Gras refers to a single day, the term in USA, primarily New Orleans, Louisiana, has been commercialized to mean the entire period from Epiphany (January 6) through Shrove Tuesday, which is packed full of parades, food, drink, music, dance, masquerades, and beads; however, in proper terminology, that period is known as Carnaval (Carnival).
We expanded our genuine Carnaval (Carnival) dance repertoire from one to two last year. Will there be a third???
- Carnavalito • Circle Dance • Bolivia [Traditional]
- Carnaval de Lanz • Solo Circle Dance • Basque [Traditional]
The usual tricks of regular dances done to New Orleans and world-wide Carnaval music are to be expected. I’m afraid that I will probably never do justice to a Samba, although that certainly should not discourage anyone else from showing us their Samba moves! Here’s how to look like a pro in nine minutes.
Beads will be provided, and you won’t even need to do any tricks! You can attempt to conceal your identity with a mask, but who are you really foolin’?
Bring your favorite fattening foods for the occasion. Cake is King. Technically, you should also bring meat and dairy, because you’ll be giving those up for 40 days to save the planet, and to love Jesus. The term Carnaval is most likely some folksy corruption of the Latin expression carne levare, “remove meat,” which became carne vale, “farewell to meat,” or it could have pagan origins. I’m not so sure that meat is a great party food, but use you creativity and surprise us.
Can’t wait to meat and bead together with you,
David & Susan
TNFD Party Protocol
- The 1st rule of TNFD Party Protocol is to have fun!
- You are encouraged, but not required, to bring a snack to share of the savory or sweet variety.
- You may bring your own alcoholic or non-alcoholic beverage for yourself or to share (there’s not much participation in such at TNFD, except some around the Winter Holidays).
- TNFD will provide reusable plates, cups, and eating utensils (aka plastic silverware). Please be sure to place those in the dirty dishes tub for washing rather than in the trash.
- There will not be any major teaching on party nights, but there may be quick instructions for a party dance. For the most part, I’ll just keep spinning the hits with some breaks filled with background/table music for mingling, munching, and merriment.
- I’ll program the entire evening before the party, so if you have requests, get them to me before the party!
So what’s the deal with King Cake? Who’s the King, and what’s this plastic baby doing in my cake?
King cake; that’s a strange thing. What’s a baby Jesus figurine doing hiding in a Mardi Gras cake? It did not surprise me at all to learn that, as is the case with the best holiday traditions, king cake is another one “borrowed” (redefined) from pagan traditions for Christian purposes. Most likely originating from the Roman mid-winter (solstice) festival of Saturnalia, a bean was hidden inside a cake, and the recipient, depending on the specific region and era, was said to have good luck and prosperity, win a prize, be king/treated like one for the day, or have to buy a round a drinks for everyone. The bean was of the fava variety, and became known in French traditions as a fève, which is simply French for “fava bean.” Today, the fève can still be a bean, perhaps an almond, a coin, a candy, or any range of religious or pop celebrity figurine in porcelain, or more likely, plastic.
In New Orleans Mardi Gras tradition, finding the fève means luck and prosperity, but it also means your on the hook for buying the next king cake and/or hosting the next Mardi Gras party. The official colors of Mardi Gras in New Orleans were chosen in 1872. Later, they were assigned the representations and King cakes, flags, beads, and everything Mardi Gras dons these hues:
- Purple for Justice
- Green for Faith
- Gold for Power
Back to this Jesus thing. Christians had already established “Christmas” to coincide with the pagan winter solstice holidays celebrating the rebirth of the sun (not spelled “son”). With Christmas comes the Twelve Days of Christmas, followed by Epiphany, when Jesus was baptized and visited by the Magi, aka “Three Wise Men,” aka “The Three Kings,” which explains why Epiphany is sometime referred to as “Three Kings Day.” Christians substituted a baby Jesus figurine for the hidden fève bean, because, ya know, three kings and all and, of course, Christ the King!
I had an Epiphany: Mardi Gras falls either in February or March, but Christmas + 12 days + 1 = January 6. The King math doesn’t work!
Okay, so king cake is a Jesus Christmas thing, so why are we eating it on Mardi Gras/Fat Tuesday? Good question. The traditional Christian festival before Lent known as Carnival is supposed to last only three days: Quinquagesima (Shrove Sunday), Shrove Monday, and Shrove Tuesday (Mardi Gras). In the Dark Ages, pagans were already partying lots during the winter because of boredom and stored food starting to rot beyond edibility, so you’d better just eat it. In the Middle Ages, Christians also needed an outlet to make their lives more bearable, so they decided, much to the Church’s dismay, just to keep partying with the pagans after Christmas. Continuing on from the 12 days of Christmas, Epiphany on January 6 became the new start of Carnaval, with many many weeks for partying and gorging on meats and fattening foods that would be prohibited after the final day of Carnaval, Mardi Gras. So you see, king cake is a seasonal thing, and that season known as Carnaval (Carnival) begins on Three Kings day, immediately after the twelfth day of Christmas, and continues right through to the actual day of Mardi Gras.
This ingenious move provided many weeks of partying, and in modern times, much tourist revenue. Just how many party weeks there are depends on the full moon cycle, which, in true pagan fashion, governs the timing of the pagan Spring Fertility Festival sometimes (commonly) known as Easter, and thus the position of Lent on the calendar. But which calendar you use depends on which version of the one true God you believe in. Because Lent signifies Jesus fasting for forty days in the desert, it makes sense that you would want to take a few extra weeks to put on some fat before entering your own fasting period before Easter.
