March celebrations
03/03/14 05:13
Mardi Gras simply means “Fat Tuesday” in French. It sounds better in French. Traditionally Fat Tuesday was a day to consume all of the butter and other fat in the house because it was the last day before the season of Lent, a six week period of fasting. Lent is the most somber season in the Christian year. Fat Tuesday isn’t an official holiday in the Christian calendar. It is, rather, a celebration that grew out of anticipation of the period of preparation for Easter that lies ahead.
One of the places to see Fat Tuesday as a huge communal holiday is New Orleans. The folks in New Orleans have been observing Mardi Gras since at least the 1730’s. The size of their celebration simply couldn’t be contained in a single day with all of the music, picnics and parades snaking their way through the city. This year the official celebration began on February 15. That’s three weekends and nearly two and a half weeks of reveling and engaging in everything that you might think one might give up for lent. I’ve never been to New Orleans for Mardi Gras, but I’ve heard that it is something worth seeing. I’m not prone to all of the excesses that are on display, but I think I’d like the music.
There is a more ancient way to recognize Martedi Grasso. Notice I’ve switched languages. In the northern Italian town of Ivera, there is a really quirky festival. If it ever happens that I have the opportunity to attend, I will definitely don a red had and head out into the streets to see what is happening. The day is devoted to a “battle” with those on foot throwing oranges at the “knights” in horse-pulled carts. The knights catch or pick up the fruit and throw it back. The city is divided into nine teams, on e for each of the historic neighborhoods of the city. At the end of the “battle” awards are made to the team that performs the best. I’m not sure who does the judging or what criteria are applied to determine the best fruit throwing performance. I don’t even know where they get all of the oranges. They probably don’t know the full story. They’ve been doing it for a long time. Perhaps since the 12th century when Ivrea rebelled against a ruling tyrant.
Oh and the red hat? It is to signify that the person wearing it is not an official combatant and not a fair target for a lobbed orange. The real battlers get split lips and broken noses in the fracas. I’d rather avoid that, but have heard that a read hat is only partial protection and bystanders do occasionally get hit. I guess there is collateral damage in every battle.
There is another March holiday that interests me. On March 15 this year, Jews around the world celebrate Purim. The holiday commemorates the courage of Esther and is often accompanied with a reading or telling of the book of Esther, complete with cheers for Ester and Mordechai and boos for that nasty and evil Haman, the villain advisor to Ahasuerus. Say Ahasuerus quickly five times in a row!
I think the best place to observe Purim might be Tel Aviv, where you could attend a formal reading of the scrolls in an orthodox synagogue and then head outside for a massive street party with live music.
If you’d like to switch religions and travel to another part of the world, March 17 is Holi, observed in several places in India and other places where there are groups of Hindu observers. According to the legend the god Krishna had a dark complexion and worried that fair-skinned goddess Radha would not accept him. Krishna’s mother told him to paint Rada’s face however he wanted. These days Hindu observers paint one another’s faces in bright colors and spray colored water and powders on the heads of other revelers in the street.
If I were to attend this festival, I think I would head for Dehli, where there is a boisterous street festival complete with music. They call it the Holi Cow Festival. I’m not making this up. They really do. Now that is not bad in English. I wonder what it sounds like in Hindi?
Of course, March 17 is also St. Patrick’s Day. You need to find a city with a large Irish population for that festival. Chicago seems to do up the celebration pretty well. When we lived there they dumped dye in the Chicago river to make it bright green and repainted the stripes in the city core green in honor of the holiday. Parades are big on St. Patrick’s day as well as drinking large amounts of Guinness and wearing green.
Dublin might be another place for this celebration. They have performances in Gaelic, another language that I don’t speak.
If you head to Spain, Valencia is the place to celebrate Las Fallas from March 15 to the 19th. The final night, the night of fire is when they shoot off all of their fireworks. They also burn paper mache figures, alled ninots, in huge bonfires. The figures often portray less than popular politicians. If you prefer flowers to fires, in the midst of the celebration is the Ofrenda de Flores a la Virgen de los Desamperados (Floral Offering to Our Lady of the Forsaken). I think the place I’d like to observe that festival is Desamperados, south of San Jose in Costa Rica. I’ve never been inside of the big catholic church there, but I have friends in the neighborhood. They don’t do the bonfires there, just the offering of flowers at the church.
For the Zoroasterians, Nowruz on March 21, is the festival of the new year. When you think of it, the first day of spring isn’t a bad day for the celebration of a new year. Persians around the world celebrate by ritual house cleaning, buying new clothes, visiting family and he “Wednesday Festival” which is celebrated by singing a traditional song while leaping over a bonfire. I don’t think their bonfires are as big as those of Las Fallas. It is Iran’s biggest holiday, so Tehran might be the place to visit. As one who doesn’t like crowds that much, I might prefer a Bedouin camp out in the desert someplace. We could still sing and jump over the fire - hopefully a really small one.
In Bali Nyepi, March 31, is observed as a day of silence. They also have parades and festivals leading up to the actual day.
With all of the craziness in the world a day of silence seems appropriate. Not a bad way to observe Lent. A little self-reflection is worth the investment of time.
One of the places to see Fat Tuesday as a huge communal holiday is New Orleans. The folks in New Orleans have been observing Mardi Gras since at least the 1730’s. The size of their celebration simply couldn’t be contained in a single day with all of the music, picnics and parades snaking their way through the city. This year the official celebration began on February 15. That’s three weekends and nearly two and a half weeks of reveling and engaging in everything that you might think one might give up for lent. I’ve never been to New Orleans for Mardi Gras, but I’ve heard that it is something worth seeing. I’m not prone to all of the excesses that are on display, but I think I’d like the music.
There is a more ancient way to recognize Martedi Grasso. Notice I’ve switched languages. In the northern Italian town of Ivera, there is a really quirky festival. If it ever happens that I have the opportunity to attend, I will definitely don a red had and head out into the streets to see what is happening. The day is devoted to a “battle” with those on foot throwing oranges at the “knights” in horse-pulled carts. The knights catch or pick up the fruit and throw it back. The city is divided into nine teams, on e for each of the historic neighborhoods of the city. At the end of the “battle” awards are made to the team that performs the best. I’m not sure who does the judging or what criteria are applied to determine the best fruit throwing performance. I don’t even know where they get all of the oranges. They probably don’t know the full story. They’ve been doing it for a long time. Perhaps since the 12th century when Ivrea rebelled against a ruling tyrant.
Oh and the red hat? It is to signify that the person wearing it is not an official combatant and not a fair target for a lobbed orange. The real battlers get split lips and broken noses in the fracas. I’d rather avoid that, but have heard that a read hat is only partial protection and bystanders do occasionally get hit. I guess there is collateral damage in every battle.
There is another March holiday that interests me. On March 15 this year, Jews around the world celebrate Purim. The holiday commemorates the courage of Esther and is often accompanied with a reading or telling of the book of Esther, complete with cheers for Ester and Mordechai and boos for that nasty and evil Haman, the villain advisor to Ahasuerus. Say Ahasuerus quickly five times in a row!
I think the best place to observe Purim might be Tel Aviv, where you could attend a formal reading of the scrolls in an orthodox synagogue and then head outside for a massive street party with live music.
If you’d like to switch religions and travel to another part of the world, March 17 is Holi, observed in several places in India and other places where there are groups of Hindu observers. According to the legend the god Krishna had a dark complexion and worried that fair-skinned goddess Radha would not accept him. Krishna’s mother told him to paint Rada’s face however he wanted. These days Hindu observers paint one another’s faces in bright colors and spray colored water and powders on the heads of other revelers in the street.
If I were to attend this festival, I think I would head for Dehli, where there is a boisterous street festival complete with music. They call it the Holi Cow Festival. I’m not making this up. They really do. Now that is not bad in English. I wonder what it sounds like in Hindi?
Of course, March 17 is also St. Patrick’s Day. You need to find a city with a large Irish population for that festival. Chicago seems to do up the celebration pretty well. When we lived there they dumped dye in the Chicago river to make it bright green and repainted the stripes in the city core green in honor of the holiday. Parades are big on St. Patrick’s day as well as drinking large amounts of Guinness and wearing green.
Dublin might be another place for this celebration. They have performances in Gaelic, another language that I don’t speak.
If you head to Spain, Valencia is the place to celebrate Las Fallas from March 15 to the 19th. The final night, the night of fire is when they shoot off all of their fireworks. They also burn paper mache figures, alled ninots, in huge bonfires. The figures often portray less than popular politicians. If you prefer flowers to fires, in the midst of the celebration is the Ofrenda de Flores a la Virgen de los Desamperados (Floral Offering to Our Lady of the Forsaken). I think the place I’d like to observe that festival is Desamperados, south of San Jose in Costa Rica. I’ve never been inside of the big catholic church there, but I have friends in the neighborhood. They don’t do the bonfires there, just the offering of flowers at the church.
For the Zoroasterians, Nowruz on March 21, is the festival of the new year. When you think of it, the first day of spring isn’t a bad day for the celebration of a new year. Persians around the world celebrate by ritual house cleaning, buying new clothes, visiting family and he “Wednesday Festival” which is celebrated by singing a traditional song while leaping over a bonfire. I don’t think their bonfires are as big as those of Las Fallas. It is Iran’s biggest holiday, so Tehran might be the place to visit. As one who doesn’t like crowds that much, I might prefer a Bedouin camp out in the desert someplace. We could still sing and jump over the fire - hopefully a really small one.
In Bali Nyepi, March 31, is observed as a day of silence. They also have parades and festivals leading up to the actual day.
With all of the craziness in the world a day of silence seems appropriate. Not a bad way to observe Lent. A little self-reflection is worth the investment of time.