Fat Tuesday….huh ???
First of all, I like New Orleans. One of my two favorite cities in the United States. I love the cafes, powder sugar-covered beignets, Preservation Hall Jazz, I even like most of the Mardi Gras revelry–except for the real raunchy stuff–and have really enjoyed the three or four times I’ve been able to visit there.
But I gotta tell ya, I have a real problem with the name “Fat Tuesday.” I’ve been a little sensitive to it most of my life. I mean, why can’t they pick on other groups of people? You don’t hear them calling it “Skinny Tuesday,” “Bald Tuesday,” or “Lazy Tuesday.” No, they pick on us fatties once again.
As a kid I got so tired of being called “tubby.” To make it worse, I played the tuba in band. Yep, you guessed it, I was labeled “Tubby the Tuba” most of my secondary school experience (maybe that’s why I worked so hard to play well…because I could play a little, they couldn’t tease me about that too.)
So today I hit the information super highway to find out just why the day before Ash Wednesday is called “Fat Tuesday.” The first thing I discovered is that in French, “Mardi Gras” translates to “Fat Tuesday.” That didn’t help much. Yeah, yeah, I get it. Picking on the morbidly obese. Giving them their own special day to throw parties and get drunk and parade around flashing body parts and wearing masks. It just doesn’t seem fair.
Then I found this entry: http://www.americancatholic.org/Features/MardiGras/
Mardi Gras literally means “Fat Tuesday” in French. The name comes from the tradition of slaughtering and feasting upon a fattened calf on the last day of Carnival. The day is also known as Shrove Tuesday (from “to shrive,” or hear confessions), Pancake Tuesday and fetter Dienstag. The custom of making pancakes comes from the need to use up fat, eggs and dairy before the fasting and abstinence of Lent begins.
I feel so much better. ”Fat Tuesday” has nothing to do with picking on body shape. It goes to eating in excess before fasting during Lent. I can live with that.
But for all those people who feel that being politically correct may not include using the word fat, maybe we could suggest some alternatives to “Fat Tuesday.” How about “Shape Challenged or Shape Impaired Tuesday,” as an alternative? Unfortunately, that opens up a whole other discussion: Who decides politically correct shape or size? I think the only safe approach is thinking in terms of physical health. If your heart, lungs, mind, all other essential organs are healthy–who cares what you look like? Who says you have to wear certain clothes sizes or weigh a certain amount when you stand on a scale.
I know, there is one nation that honors big fatties. Maybe we could rename Mardi Gras to “Sumo Tuesday.” The Japanese are very passionate about their sumo warriors. They are revered like the rock stars of Western Society.
So I propose from here on out the day before Ash Wednesday be renamed, “Sumo Tuesday.” What do you think? Will it catch on? Will we soon find little sumo dolls with beads and masks being sold in the Mardi Gras section of party supply stores? I doubt it.
Hope you had a great “Sumo Tuesday,”
Kirk
