Tuesday fatty is approaching. Why are you eating fat on this date? Where does this idea of disguising yourself come from? And what does Christ do in this story doing? The point on the most oily party of the year.
Tuesday fat takes place on the last day of carnival. It is therefore an important date, but few people know why this party has taken this rather incongruous name. However, a few notions of Latin are enough to start revealing its meaning: “carnival” comes from the Latin “carnis levare”, an expression which means “delete, remove the meat”. And if this expression has remained, transformed with the centuries, it is because it refers to a secular tradition: that of having a good meal before the deprivation of Lent, this period of fasting and abstinence instituted by Christianity .
The day of fat Tuesday, all excesses are allowed! If all French people will know very well what to eat on this Gras Tuesday day, how much do this date that date? For the record, Gras Tuesday, this feast with Christian and pagan origins, actually designates the end of the “Seven Day Week”. In other words, the day preceding the 40 days of fasting of Lent.
What is the date of Tuesday fat in 2025?
In 2025, Tuesday fat was set at Tuesday March 4a less frequent situation because Tuesday fat took place more in February than in March. The next dates of Mardi Gras fall to your choice in February or March, but, as the name of the celebration suggests, always on Tuesday. What are the exact days concerned until 2028? In 2026, Tuesday fat was set on February 17, will follow on February 9, 2027 then on February 29, 2028.
Easter As always comes 47 days after Gras Tuesday. This party is directly linked to carnivals that take place in the world. It marks the last day of the festivities, as is the case of the Dunkirk carnival which celebrates on the last day of the “Trois Joyeuses”.
What is the tradition of Tuesday fat in France?
Each year, sweet dishes are distributed in schools, to satisfy the taste buds of gourmet children. The latter were also the first to get their hands on the dough: at the time, the children disguised themselves to ring at the doors, in order to gather all the ingredients necessary for the preparation of pancakes, as in Candlemas. A recipe that has everything of child’s play: a well of flour, a few whole eggs, butter and (a little) sugar, all gently incorporated into the whisk with milk. Breton grandmothers recommend adding rum and beer … in moderation!
If all French people will know very well what to eat on this Gras Tuesday day, how much do this date that date? For the record, Gras Tuesday, this feast with Christian and pagan origins, actually designates the end of the “Seven Day Week”. In other words, the day preceding the 40 days of fasting of Lent. If you want to know everything about the origin and meaning of this party, read below.
Why do we eat donuts at Mardi Gras?
Why do you enjoy wonders, bugnes and other donuts (but also waffles, pancakes and churros) on Tuesday fat? Dixit Nadine Cretin, festival historian interviewed by Madame Figaro, eating in abundance is traditionally used on the eve of the fast of Lentbut also the return of spring, with a “feast which included meats and fatty broths and ended with simple pastries to make: crepes or donuts, Lyon Bugnes, Wonders of Aquitaine or waffles“.
For the one who is also the author of “Table Festivals and Food Traditions” (Ed. Le Pérégrinator) and “Fête des Fous, Saint-Jean and Belles de Mai. The calendar festivals” (ed. Seuil) Tuesday fat “implied prosperity, fertility, the return of lactation in stables and sheepfolds, the revival of nature”.
Unlike many important days in the Christian tradition (Christmas, epiphany, candlestick …), the date of the Gras Tuesday party is mobile in the calendar, although it always occurs on Tuesday, as its name indicates . In other words, his position in the year is evolving every year. Tuesday fat is set 47 days before Easter. However, the date of Easter evolves itself each year according to astronomical criteria established by the “ecclesiastical comput”, that is to say all the operations making it possible to calculate the dates of the mobile religious festivals. The rules were established in the 4th century. Since the Council of Nicea, gathered in 325, “Easter is celebrated on Sunday following the fourteenth day of the moon which reached this age on March 21 or immediately after”. In simpler terms: Easter takes place on the first Sunday following the full moon taking place after March 21, that is to say the spring equinox.
This day also occurs the day before ashes Wednesday, First day of Lent. In the Christian tradition, Lent is a period of penance modeled over the past forty days, according to the Bible, by Jesus Christ in the desert. Lent extends from Ash Wednesday to Holy Saturday, the day before Easter, which commemorates the resurrection of Jesus Christ. The Christian fasting period contains six Sundays and forty days of week (Monday to Saturday), or 45 days. Tuesday fat is therefore the last day preceding these 45 days of meditation and penance.
Tuesday fat is also the last day as well as the culmination of carnival, a period of festivities and rejoicing traditionally preceding the rigors of Lent. This period is marked by exuberant parades during which the participants are most often disguised with elegant (as in the Venice carnival) or absurd (like in Dunkirk) costumes. Carnival is a very old tradition of celebrations preceding the “lean” days of the end of thewinterwhich extend over the months of February and March, before the return of spring. As the last day of this period, Gras Tuesday is the occasion for all the fantasies. From Rio to Nice via Cologne, New Orleans, Dunkirk, Basel or Mayance, disguises and masks in explosive colors are out …