Welcome to the Last Day to Party - Sort Of
Today is the day when Louisiana blooms, not with bougainvillea's riotous blossoms, but with partying people, parades and portable adult beverages. Today is the last day before Lent begins, the final day of the Mardi Gras season, and it’s traditionally a day for gluttony of all sorts before the Christian season of atonement and deprivation starts. Fat Tuesday, Shrove Tuesday, Carnival Tuesday and Pancake Tuesday are some of the names this day gets called.
- Mardi Gras is Fat Tuesday in French.
- Carnival Tuesday is a pretty good description of life in the over 50 countries where the weeks before Lent are a big, decadent blow-out of a public party.
- Pancake Tuesday is the day people prepared for Lent by cooking and eating all the things they couldn’t have during lent. Things like butter, eggs, milk …mmmmmmmm, pancakes…
- Shrove Tuesday is a day of repentance before the Lenten season begins. From the looks of the parties being held in celebration of Mardi Gras, Carnival and Pancake Tuesday, it might take the entire Lenten season for some people to repent!
No matter how you’re celebrating today – or even if you’re not celebrating today – there are probably some places in your life that deserve to be celebrated, too. So if the spirit moves you, celebrate yourself for things you may not realize you can celebrate. If you need some inspiration, here are celebration ideas from the world’s second-shortest podcast:
- Feeling like a failure? There’s a Tiny Bite for that!
- Not sure whether you made a difference today? There’s a Tiny Bite for that!
- Comparisons getting you down? There’s a Tiny Bite for that!
The Wellbeing Wisdom Tiny Bites podcast is always 90 seconds or less, comes out every day, and is designed with your mental wellbeing and success in mind. Find it where you listen to podcasts or here on the Center for Workplace Happiness website. Please subscribe and share it with your busy friends who appreciate bite-sized nuggets of actionable information.
Whether you’re trying to catch beads, chug a family-sized Sazerac, or use up the eggs, milk and butter on pancakes, celebrate you today, too. You bring the world a unique point of view, a unique set of skills and a unique path through life. Enjoy every minute of your day today and celebrate you, along with whatever you call today’s celebration.
Wags, Sandy Weaver, Program Director, Center for Workplace Happiness
Author of Happy Vet Happy Pet, The Original MBA, and co-author of The Happiness Recipe and The 28-Day Thought Diet
PS... Want the perfect way to start each day? Check out the Mind, Body, Soul Sessions podcast – something for your whole self, for just $7 per month.
