Mardi Gras (French. Mardi Gras) — literally translated from French, this sonorous phrase means «fat Tuesday» or even «shock Tuesday» (English. Shrove Tuesday). The holiday is celebrated in many countries around the world on Tuesday, before Ash Wednesday and the beginning of Catholic Lent, preceding Easter.
This is a noisy and cheerful holiday, a semblance of Russian Maslenitsa, which is accompanied by folk festivals, carnivals, mass and magnificent celebrations.
The holiday is preceded by long and careful preparations. Housewives buy products for delicious and hearty meals — that's what «fat Tuesday» is for. On the day of the carnival, delicious pancake smells come from the kitchens — what is Maslenitsa without pancakes?!
There is only one «no» — «Mardi Gra» must be completed before midnight, before Wednesday. Since, according to legend:
...A long time ago, the painted beauty Roz Latulip lived in the same village. On the day of the holiday, a cheerful group of dandy courteurs took and drove Gabriel’s — beloved Roses out of the dances. Deeply insulted, Gabriel, with anger and jealousy in his heart, was forced to watch the dances from the sidelines.
Exactly an hour before midnight, a gloomy-looking, arrogant stranger suddenly appeared on the set and invited the beautiful Rose to dance. Circle after circle, the couple rushed by dancing. Faster and faster. Gabriel rushed into the darkness of the night. And there he stood, impatiently reverberating in place and carving sparks with his hooves, seeing off the stranger as black as pitch. Flames burst out of his nostrils. The snow was melting around and there was a smell of gray. It was the devil, and the stranger turned out to be Satan himself!
As the clock hands approached twelve, Roz no longer remembered herself, and the fury of the dance reached its limit. Satan's eyes, full of triumph, sparkled. He knew that if it was possible to keep the girl dancing until the last beat of the clock, announcing the arrival of a new day, another soul would be in his power. But the insidious plans were not destined to come true. In the remaining few seconds, Gabriel broke through the crowd of dumbfounded revelers and snatched the unfortunate Rose from the tenacious hands of Satan...
And today, as a rule, carnivals and folk festivals are completed by the ringing of the bells of the main church of the city, which also notifies about the beginning of Lent, the time of repentance and abstinence.