Give it up for Mardi Gras, Rosenmontag and Pancake Day!

Mardi Gras – literally translated as Fat Tuesday – is the celebration to mark the last day of indulgence before the six week period of abstinence known, in the Christian calendar, as Lent. Lent means, simply, spring. It comes from the Anglo-Saxon word lengten which in itself is from the German, Lenz: spring.

It’s traditional to give up something we enjoy during Lent. Nowadays it tends to be chocolate or wine – or even our iPads. But originally it was eggs – hence the pancakes to use them up. Why? Because, in the days before intensive farming, spring was when chickens had a break from laying. So the cynical side of me thinks: no real hardship then, giving up something that wasn’t available anyway.

There are equivalents to Mardi Gras all around the Western World. In England we have Pancake Day or Shrove Tuesday. It was supposed to be a day to use up all the eggs in the house before the long fast. But one day of tossing pancakes is somewhat low key compared to Mardi Gras: a two week extravaganza of hedonism and carnival before the Lenten shut down. In Germany, the party can go on even longer. Karneval or Fashing can begin at any time from November 11th and it runs right through to Lent, culminating in Rosenmontag, the Monday before Ash Wednesday. Rose, in this case, comes from the dialect word roose, meaning to frolic, rather than the flower or the colour.

But, whatever you choose to call it, the period leading up to Lent is all about indulgence. Building up the carbs/units/sins before the big penitence of Lent. Stuffing ourselves before the cleansing of our souls; the repenting of our sins. I’m reminded of when I used to smoke – every time I decided to give up (and there were many!) I would smoke like a chimney the day before as though that would tide me over the initial withdrawal symptoms. It didn’t. Or, when I signed up for a slimming club (again, too numerous to count) and then ate myself stupid beforehand in the bonkers belief that if I’d put on last minute pounds, they’d come off more easily once I started the diet.

Oh how we kid ourselves into justifying our daft behaviour!

I don’t follow any organised religion but I often use the period of Lent for a personal challenge. Usually a detox or abstaining from wine. This morning, as I sat by the lake, I wondered what I wanted to do this year. I’m already on (another!) weight loss programme – which is going well at the moment – so my consumption of both food and wine is greatly reduced. I haven’t smoked for decades and I don’t have an iPad – although I do have an iPhone but that’s my link to my children and grandchildren. So absolutely no cutting that out.

As I pondered from what I should abstain this year, I realised that abstinence and penitence seem rather like punishment words to me. And I don’t want to punish myself. Giving up smacks of deprivation. The word shrove, as in Shrove Tuesday, means confession – clearing out our consciences of all our misdeeds before six weeks of remorse.

The majority of my clients are punishing themselves for some minor transgression – usually in childhood – and have carried the guilt all their lives. And it comes out in their bodies. A client with neck and shoulder stiffness has taken responsibility for younger siblings and/or parents and now beats themselves up for not having done more. Someone who had a wild sex life when they were younger and now feels guilty finds it coming out in out in all sorts of gynae ways. We really don’t need to continue punishing ourselves for past – or present – mistakes.

I’m someone who prefers to use a carrot rather than a stick. So I decided that, this year, for the spring period up to Easter, I wouldn’t give up anything: instead I would add something to my life. I’m going to pledge to do yoga every day. I used to do yoga far more frequently than I do at the moment – of late I’ve found the confines of the duvet far more inviting in the morning. This is my own personal discipline – to get back on track. So, for the next six weeks, instead of giving up or depriving myself, I’m going to nourish my mind, body and spirit with daily yoga.

We’ll see. Watch this space!