Fat Tuesday or Mardi Gras in the Middle Ages

Fat Tuesday, or Mardi Gras, was a popular holiday in the Middle Ages, and people still celebrate it. But what was Mardi Gras?
Mardi Gras was the last day before the forty days of Lent (see my post about Lent and Easter here). During Lent, people had to give up eggs, fatty foods, meat, and gluttony. Therefore, Fat Tuesday was a day to glut all those forbidden foods. Mardi Gras was also a day to enjoy crazy festivals, which have changed into the famous Carnival in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and countless other holidays in many countries.
What does Mardi Gras mean? What did people do and eat on Fat Tuesday in the Middle Ages? How can we celebrate Mardi Gras today?

What Does Mardi Gras Actually Mean?

What does Mardi Gras actually mean? That is a good question! Mardi Gras is French, and it literally translates to Fat Tuesday. For a holiday that denotes gluttony in its name, Mardi Gras or Fat Tuesday certainly lives up to its name. People had to eat all their perishable foods forbidden during Lent.

Therefore they made lots of fatty foods with milk, butter, eggs, and similar things. Another name for the holiday is Shrove Tuesday because people would go to church to be forgiven of their sins before Lent. Pancake Day was another name because people ate lots of pancakes.

If you think about it, most foods forbidden during Lent are ingredients that go into pancakes! In some places, people called Fat Tuesday something even different, Donut Day. People did have donuts in the Middle Ages, though they looked and tasted different than modern ones.

Why did Medieval People Celebrate Fat Tuesday?

Now that we know what Mardi Gras means, let’s see why it was celebrated. There were a few reasons. First, people had to get rid of their dairy products, meat, and eggs before Lent somehow. They just chose to do it by gorging on everything.

Another reason was the fast itself. People couldn’t eat many different things during Lent, so they spent the last day fattening up for the coming forty days. People held pancake-eating competitions. One final reason was medieval people took every opportunity to party and enjoy themselves.

How did Medieval People Celebrate Mardi Gras?

People observed Fat Tuesday in a variety of ways. Many things had symbolism, for example, people ate cakes with green, yellow, and purple frosting. The colors symbolized justice, faith, and power. The three colors also represented the Three Wise Men. The cakes could have little things like peas, beans, or rings baked in. In modern times, people use baby Jesus figurines.

The person who got the item was either the royalty in local carnivals or got good luck, depending on the place and time. Their parties could include dancing, songs, and costumes. People often dressed up as the opposite gender or as animals. Obviously, the church did not like this tradition and eventually tried to ban or at least tone down the crazy parts of the holiday.

Sometimes the lord of the manor passed out coins or little cakes. People watched many plays, including the “argument, and sometimes fight, between Carnival and Lent”. The plays would end with people pretending to wonder who won, but Lent would obviously win the next day.

The Fight between Carnival and Lent by Pieter Bruegel the Elder

Unfortunately, Mardi Gras celebrations also included violence and drunkenness. People could get away with crazy things (such as mock the clergy, boss the nobility around, violent/drunken acts, etc.), and most already wore masks. The masks hid faces, helping the wealthy and poor celebrate together without worrying about class. People couldn’t get in trouble if their leaders didn’t know who caused the problem. And last but not least, people gorged on fatty, rich, and meat-filled foods.

What Did People Eat on Fat Tuesday?

During Lent, people couldn’t eat milk, eggs, cheese, butter, fat, or sugar. Lent was a time of penance, but Carnival was the opposite. People gorged on medieval versions of pancakes, donuts, cakes, meat, and any other favorite fatty foods. The coming forty days would help them repent for everything they did that day.

People love pancakes, and Pancake Day is still celebrated in some parts of the world. In other parts of the world, people call this holiday Donut Day. In the Middle Ages, some people made donuts. They were different than modern donuts, but that’s ok.

They would cook their moist dough in hot oil. Sounds like the whole food would be forbidden during Lent. Cakes with specially colored frosting have also been around for a long time.

How to Celebrate Fat Tuesday at Home

If you want to celebrate Fat Tuesday at home, you can definitely have some fun. First, make or buy loads of pancakes, donuts, cakes, and/ or other fatty, dairy-filled foods. Add a hard bean, pea, or ring to the cake batter.

Whoever gets the item you included is either the royalty of your home festival or receives luck. Then feast on tons of them. However, you may want to look at observing Lent or going on a diet if you choose to eat as much food as the medieval people. Add meat to your menu and leave out the vegetables.

Wear the colors green, purple, and yellow. Make a fun mask to wear, preferably in the Mardi Gras colors. Dance and have lots of fun, but leave out violence and drunkeness. You can put on a Mardi Gras play for your family. Just remember that by the next day, Lent always wins.

Mardi Gras was a day to glut yourself and enjoy life before the strict rules of Lent came into practice. Does Mardi Gras sound like fun to you? Do you celebrate Mardi Gras? Let me know in the comments!