50+ Lifestyles

March 2019

By Eloise Graham

This year, March is host to Mardi Gras and Fat Tuesday, also known as Shrove Tuesday. The date is March 5th. Mardi Gras colors are green, gold and purple.

The Mardi Gras parade king is called Rex. In 1872, Rex chose the colors of purple, green and gold to be the official Mardi Gras colors. It was not known why he chose those colors. Perhaps because he thought they looked good together. He gave no reason or suggested meaning to the colors. People began to speculate as to what the significance might be. Purple; royalty, regal, kingly? Green; health, youth, vitality? Gold; wealth, independence, freedom? Rex of the 1892 parade stated that PURPLE meant justice, GREEN meant faith and GOLD meant power. That has been the Mardi Gras colors and meanings since then.

This day is also known as Fat Tuesday. This is the day that all of the pantries would be emptied of any meats or meat by-products (lard was one) in preparation for the Lenten Season that would begin the next day, Ash Wednesday. Shrove Tuesday is another name for the day before Ash Wednesday. Some countries or regions celebrate by having pancake suppers. Again, that is to use up all of the lard that was a mainstay. Lard or animal fat was used to cook pancakes.

On Sunday, March 10, most of the United States will once again get to change all of the clocks in their homes. Government, in its wisdom, deemed that to save energy we needed to change our clocks to give us another hour of daylight. This was first implemented in the United States in 1918. Yes, you read that right. The time-saving debate has been going on for over a century now. No matter what side of the debate you are on, just remember to change your clocks.

March 15th is known as the Ides of March. In ancient times, the Ides of March had many religious meanings on the Roman calendar. The most significant one is that was the date designated to settle all debts.

The Romans didn’t count the days of the calendar as we do. They counted backward from three different points: the Nones (5th or 7th depending on the month); the Ides (13th or 15th); and the Kalends (1st of the following month). The Ides was a midpoint of the month and often had religious sacrifices to the Roman gods associated with it. In 44 B.C., Julius Caesar was assassinated. His death was immortalized in William Shakespeare’s  play by the same name written in 1599 A.D. In the play Caesar was warned of his impending death by the statement, “Beware of the Ides of March!” That quote is used quite often to this very day.