Today is Mardi Gras and the only people that seem to care are me and my Indo friend. When I asked around law school for what people were doing, the usual response was “what are you giving up for lent?” Which makes sense since I go to a Jesuit law school. When I asked my friends outside of law school, they replied “no celebrating on a work night”.

So why am I so worked up over today? I’ve come up with two theories – all half-baked. (1) For the whole Easter Season, today is the only day, I a non-Catholic can celebrate. Today is a non-religious-caste-no-bar “fun day” full of merriment and debauchery that all can participate in. (2) We have an excuse to eat that one extra cookie, dip into the candy basket a few more times and eat that huge Chinese “Orange Delight” without feeling guilty, after all it is Fat Tuesday.

Theory Number 2 probably works for every holiday – an excuse to indulge in things that on regular days would be taboo. Take Valentines Day last week – believers and non-believers, single and non-singles – all came together sending gifts through the mail or meeting up for dinner and drinks. No matter what your status was, it was a holiday and an excuse to buy a huge heart shaped box of cordial cherry chocolates or stop by the MAC store for another lipstick. So if you are wondering why I didn’t post on Valentines Day, it was because it was a holiday and I was too busy celebrating, just like today.

Merry Mardi Gras to all!

I'm grabbing some beads, eating a cookie and celebrating with my Indo friend.

On my Ipod: "I Luv me sum Mardi Gras" by Tha Nu Jaz Orda