Mardi gras, one of the international celebrations that precedes Lent, traditionally features a variety of pageants, balls, and parades that mock social and religious leaders and glorify normally forbidden practices. Eventually, Easter restores the lost harmony.
Mardi gras (Fat Tuesday) is one of several names for the day before Ash Wednesday. In England it is called Shrove Tuesday, in Germany Fastnacht (the eve of the fast). In Caribbean and Latin American countries the observances ...