Mardi Gras!

Having visited New Orleans recently, I've been looking forward even more to Mardi Gras this year - or Pancake or Shrove Tuesday here in Scotland, when all the flesh will be shriven! (or something like that) in preparation for Lent.
I've been trying to explain Lent to school children and that has given me an excuse to share the masks brought back from NOLA and lots of other interesting insights gleaned on that trip. Because, although Ash Wednesday is the start of Lent, Mardi Gras is just as important for ensuring that people are ready to observe Lent, by partying it up and then laying aside some of the excesses for the next 6 weeks. The colours of Mardi Gras, purple for justice, green for faith and gold for majesty and power are poignant symbols with which to enter Lent - justice, faith and power. I look forward to seeing how those play out as the tones of the festival die down, becoming a distant echo and as they weave their way in and around our Lenten observance. But, for today - Happy Mardi Gras!