Today – the last day before Lent begins in the Western Church — goes by many names. The best known are  Carnival (also spelled Carnevale), Mardi Gras, and Shrove Tuesday. These names can teach us about the meaning of the day, the meaning of the Lenten season, and the history of its celebration.

Carnival, better know for the samba teams and parties in Brazil and the masked balls of Venice, is a word derived from the Latin meaning "farewell to meat."  Even today, the discipline of Lent is marked by abstinence from meat on Ash Wednesday, Good Friday, and the Fridays of Lent. But through the Middle Ages, meat was forbidden on all of the weekdays of Lent. The regulations were relaxed on Saturdays, Sundays, and major feast days (such as the Annunciation). That meant that, for most people, the last day before Lent began really was one of the last tastes of meat for more than six weeks. That's worth a hearty goodbye!

Mardi Gras is a French name meaning Fat Tuesday. Though better known for the parades and revelry along the Gulf Coast, especially New Orleans, the name reflects old practice. In addition to meat, the faithful in the Middle Ages abstained from milk, eggs, butter, and cheese as well. (They weren't quite vegan since honey and fish were allowed.) In a time without refrigeration and deep freezes, you couldn't store these things through Lent. So, the last days before Lent were the time to cook foods that used up all of those yummy things. Thus, we have the origin of paczkis, fasnachts, and pancake Tuesday!

We'll talk a little more about the traditional eating restrictions of Lent in a post later in the season.

The name Shrove Tuesday has nothing to do with food. It is derived from an old name for Confession — Shriving. To be shriven was to have confessed your sins to a priest and to have received absolution. In the Middle Ages, the common practice was to celebrate the Sacrament of Penance (to be shriven) the day before Lent began. that way, you entered the season with a pure heart and could undertake your Penance in the Lenten season, returning to the Eucharistic Table for Easter. Thus, the name Shrove Tuesday. This practice seems a bit odd to modern Catholics, since today the more common practice is to undertake serious self-examination during the early weeks of Lent and celebrate Penance late in Lent.

Regardless of the name, today is a last day to prepare yourself for the discipline of Lent.