Today is Fat Tuesday, which is the day before Lent begins in the church calendar. During Lenten season, generations of Christians have traditionally given up something like meat, wine, or sweet foods during the 40 days before Easter as a way of setting an intention towards self-examination.
But before it’s time to be all serious and reflective, it’s time to PARTY! Mardi Gras is about enjoying all the beauty and deliciousness at once. It’s about extravagance and lavishness not only for the sake of clearing the pantry, but also to start off the resurrection season with joy and fun. People all over the world have celebrated Fat Tuesday for thousands of years but it seems weirdly absent in our calendars, maybe because we have a cultural problem with fat.
Let’s stop taking advice from the food and beauty industries and love fat for the critical, life-giving lipid that it is! The fat of pastured animals is packed with tons of key nutrients and collagens that help us rebuild our body! Fat is critical to helping our bodies store vitamins, keep energy reserves, have babies, and maintain healthy brain function among other important things. Fat is the flavor: all the best things condensed up when we need them.
On Fat Tuesday, the day before 40 days of confession, we confess that we need fat. It’s been a helluva year and we need to enjoy the goodness of this life we’ve been given.
So on this Fat Tuesday:
wear your most fun, fancy outfit,
put on all your crazy jewelry,
turn your music up loud,
use those dishes that you’re always worried will break,
wear the bright lipstick/hat/accessory that you got because you love but are worried is too extra,
enjoy that delicious beverage,
send a garishly insane GIF to your people expressing how much you love them,
make that tasty dessert,
give too-long hugs, and
SAVOR all the fat of living an abundant life!