I'm not Catholic or anything, but I know the basics of Lent: party till Mardi Gras, then it's Ash Wednesday and you renounce a luxury or material item until Easter. Practicing Catholics often go to Mass on Ash Wednesday and can receive a mark of ash on their forehead. After all the revelry leading up to Mardi Gras, Ash Wednesday is supposed to be somber; a self-imposed "hardship".
Which is why this just made me laugh. Look closely at the date.
(from the Maison Midi-Pyrénées which organizes trips, classes, and package deals to discover the region)
I know it's because kids don't have school on Wednesday, but isn't that just wrong? I'm not remotely Catholic and it really bugs me. In a traditionally Catholic country on top of everything! I'm trying to come up with an anology, but it's hard. It's like guessing who'll win the Oscars the day after the ceremony, or saying you're single the day after you get married, or running a marathon the day after everyone else did, or wishing people Merry Christmas in January. Pointless and wrong.
Only in France I guess.
1 comment:
I seem to remember Carnaval stuff going on after Ash Wednesday in France when I was there.
I just looked it up, and the Carnaval de Nice (which I believe is one of the biggest, if not the biggest, in the country) has stuff through the weekend following Ash Wednesday.
Like many originally religious things in France, it's just become an excuse to have fun and/or a vacation. (Where else do you get Ascension Day off? Or have a 2 week break for All Saints Day?)
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