Mardi Gras on YouTube: Fasting, Feasting, and Preparation

If you think Mardi Gras is only something that happens in New Orleans, and you're not quite sure what it is (other than a party), YouTube is here to help.

Seasons of Feasting and Fasting

My favorite thing about the Catholic Liturgical Calendar is how naturally it creates balanced living. Seasons of preparation, penance, celebration, and feasting come one after another to guide daily life and add spiritual emphasis to the year.

The best-known season of fasting, the 40 days of Lent, is preparation for the Easter season’s 50 days of feasting, leading up to Pentecost.

But before Lent begins, there's Mardi Gras (which means Fat Tuesday in French). It's also known as Shrove Tuesday (based on the old English word "shrive," meaning to get absolution after confession, something Catholics often do just before Lent), or Pancake Tuesday (more on that in a minute).

Mardi Gras is the last Tuesday before Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent. In olden days, when the Catholic Lenten fast was far more severe, people would celebrate "fat Tuesday."

A major part of the festival was eating up things traditionally forbidden in Lent, such as eggs, butter, and sugar (often made into cakes or pancakes), and meat ... hence Mardi Gras' other common name, Carnival, evolved from a Latin phrase that means "farewell to meat."

The full season called Carnival traditionally begins at Epiphany, which marks the Biblical visit of the Magi, a k a the Three Kings, to the Holy Family, and ends at Mardi Gras.

Secular society may not have entirely embraced Lent, but it does love Mardi Gras, even if folks don't know they're actually marking a Catholic holiday (and you sure wouldn't know that, looking at a lot of modern Mardi Gras celebrations).

But to learn more about the real origins of Mardi Gras, let's go to YouTube.

The Catholic Roots of Mardi Gras | Made For Glory

Ever wondered where our modern-day Mardi Gras celebration originates? The YouTube channel uCatholic presents a quick version of the Catholic history of Shrove Tuesday, Mardi Gras, and tangentially, Lent.

Succinctly explained and historically based, this video explains the old roots of the traditional day, describing it as a “celebration of the good things in life as we prepare for our Lenten journey” and the fasting to come. Highlights the importance and use of Lent to come.

Carnival and Mardi Gras in the United States - American Catholic History

American Catholic History podcast discusses the Catholic history of Mardi Gras and of the season of Carnival, a season of celebration leading up to Lent. It discusses the Liturgical Calendar and the sacred aspects of the season, as preparation for the penitential season of Lent before Easter.

It’s a more in-depth analysis of tradition and historical Catholic culture.

Bayou Time: The History of Mardi Gras & Ash Wednesday

Bayou Time presents a brief interview with a priest about the Catholic history of Mardi Gras and how we came to celebrate the way we do the day before Lent.

I learned surprising connections between medieval and older celebrations of the Epiphany (hence a King Cake, in honor of the Magi!), and further history of the famed dessert.

They also explore the fascinating ways a culture can tweak and connect Church liturgical days to secular holidays.

Traditional King Cake

Want to make the traditional King Cake for your Mardi Gras? It’s not too hard. Stay-At-Home Chef presents an easy, simple King Cake cooking tutorial, with recipe in the description. The comments review this spicy, citrus-tinged cake well.

Note the colors: purple, green and gold -- traditionally associated with the Magi. And what's that little Baby in there? The video explains part of it, but that is actually to represent the Infant Jesus.

The Best King Cake Recipe on the Internet

For overachievers, here’s the self-proclaimed best king cake recipe on the internet. It’s definitely more complicated than the usual recipe, but is glowingly reviewed.

The cake is made of dough lightly spiced with nutmeg, incorporates a creamy cinnamon sugar filling, and topped with lemon-vanilla icing to explode with delicate flavor.

The Best Pancakes You'll Ever Make | Epicurious 101

If you’re looking for a fun Pancake Tuesday meal before jumping into Ash Wednesday, just make breakfast for dinner! This is a phenomenal, easy fluffy buttermilk-pancake recipe. A very straightforward, clear video walks through every step, with delicious results.

So, What is The Liturgical Year?

Lastly, if you want to know more about the Catholic Liturgical Calendar in general, Family Theater Productions' YouTube series Catholic Central has episodes on Ash Wednesday, Lent and so on, but here's the series' overview of the whole shebang:

And now I’m off to the grocery store!

Image: Adobe Stock/Canva

Sophia Sariego is a Los Angeles native working in the pro-life movement. She loves Eucharistic Adoration, making music, and hitting the beaches in her spare time.