Mardi Gras…Detroit Style
It’s Mardi Gras…Fat Tuesday
The day before the Wake Up Call
Some people go to New Orleans for a float and a big party and way too much of everything
As for me, I will head for Hamtramck and the world famous paczki
So…exactly what is a PACZKI?
You see…in days gone by Lent was strictly observed by all Roman Catholics. And in those days to remind ourselves of the suffering of Jesus we gave up all things of pleasure and delightful (or at least those things discussed at the dinner table)…and the list of all things in the Lenten fast were shared so that we could each become the designated Commander in Chief for everyone else’s compliance.
Eggs, Sugar, Dessert, Pudding and Jam or Jelly were on the list
And so the day before the Lenten feast all things delectable were consumed and over consumed
In the Polish tradition, the eggs, sugar, and lard were rolled together and fried into something resembling a donut (sans the hole) — topped with powdered sugar…and just because it was Lent the delicacy was overstuffed with the best of what filled the cupboards…like custard, pudding, jam or jelly…and there was no tally on the number of paczkis consumed before midnight….
It’s the Feast Day…before the Fast Day…
When we feast on those delicacies that might need some fast time…like the marathon consumption of television shows that intend to deaden our connection…or the feast of eating to fill the hungry heart seeking nourishment in all the wrong places…or the feast of losing that hour somewhere between the remote control and the “like” button….or the feast of being disconnected from feeling what the word means before instinct hits “send” … or the feast of the magnetic field that keeps us asleep when the alarm is ringing….
Maybe it’s time to fast…from that which stuffs us….and the fried exterior of too much using up of leftovers and not enough invitation to create…maybe it’s time to fast from forgetting who is God and who is not so that we lose track of who we are…maybe it’s time to fast from the “to do” list and just be present to the “doing” list…maybe it’s time to fast from fear and feast on faith.
Maybe it’s time for the ASH WEDNESDAY alarm
But, first, I think I will inhale the aroma of paczki and perfect the art of checking out the filing and pretending the kids did it….while only eating half standing up so I don’t have to count….
Happy Mardi Gras…..