Fat Tuesday: Removing meat for Carnival/Lent

MSN.com; Pfc. Sandoval, CC Liu, Crystal Q. (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

Los Angeles has a pioneering cook in Rahel, who offers gluten-free vegan Ethiopian delicacies.

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I pray as I begin then I let go as my meditation.

Most Americans think Mardi Gras is a party, but it's actually a holy day during Holy Week, and its purpose is to put the brakes on meat eating. Three of the world's four largest religions know it's bad -- for health and for morals -- but that attitude has been thrown out over time. Buddhism (including the one billion uncounted Buddhists in communist China) and Hinduism remember the harm, whereas Christian/Catholicism and Islam seem to have forgotten. But Lent is the reminder. Only, now, most of us ignore it. Ethiopian Christians remember, as do monastics and people attempting to purify themselves by prayer -- not the common petitionary kind so much as other more effective forms (such as The Isaiah Effect: Decoding the Lost Science of Prayer and Prophecy rediscovered by Gregg Braden).

• Find vegan and vegetarian food outlets
• Carnival or Shrovetide is "removing meat"
• Fasting and abstinence in Ethiopian Orthodox
• What will there be to eat? Ethiopian cuisine

I didn't mean to kill animals. I'm taking it back.

Glittering green beads descend from balconies, costumed and topless crowds line parade routes, and jazz music fills the air — yep, you guessed it: Mardi Gras is here!

Otherwise known as "Fat Tuesday," this celebration draws scores of people to New Orleans, USA, every year for one big party.

Even if one can't make it to The Big Easy, one can join the festivities by dressing up in dazzling Carnival costumes, decorating the home in purple, green, and gold, or preparing a spread of traditional Mardi Gras food.

• Fasting days to abstain from meat (slaughtered flesh)

Thank you, soldier. We all want to live longer.

Just the flavors of the Carnival season are enough to keep many coming back for more: boils and étouffée, powdered beignets and po'boy sandwiches, and king cakes with tiny baby figurines hidden inside -- all largely unhealthy (albeit beloved) garbage.

And if the latter seems like an odd tradition, there's plenty more where that came from! The history of Mardi Gras and its customs is a much bigger story than anyone thinks.

• Carnival means "remove meat" (Latin carnevale), and it's part of the tradition of abstaining from animal flesh for 40 days. It's been practiced in Christian Ethiopia for millennia. The Roman Empire was no different, except in lustily building up to the fasting from flesh part. Today, Fat Tuesday, is when one eats up all the things (usually in pancake form) one does not want in the kitchen for the next 40 days.

What about fish? No way! That's an animal

For example, did you know why it always falls on the Tuesday before the start of Lent? Or why exactly it's called Fat Tuesday? To answer these questions and more, read ahead for the history of Mardi Gras and why it's celebrated. More: msn.com

• PETA.org to go vegan
• Vegan Made Easy: A healthy plant-based lifestyle (vegan.com)