On Tues. 17, students in Madame Shoop’s seventh period class celebrated the day of Mardi Gras (translating to Fat Tuesday).

“We celebrate this day because it helps us understand world cultures in a better and deeper way,” Shoop said.

The day is a celebration filled with feasting and activity before Lent, the time of fasting before Easter begins.

To celebrate this day, students were assigned various countries in the world to study and find out how the people there celebrated Mardi Gras. From daily traditions to specialized foods, Mardi Gras around the world was explained.

Cities assigned were everywhere from Nice, France and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, to Moscow, Russia and New Orleans, Louisiana.

After the powerpoints, students brought in traditional foods and snacks of the people in different regions. King’s cake, a kind of cake made from a French-bread like dough and sugar icing on top, with the colors of green, yellow, and purple adorning the tops and sides was brought. The traditional French crepes were also made and brought, with toppings such as powdered sugar and Nutella. Even beignets, a kind of fried dough ball with powdered sugar on top originating in Louisiana was brought.

“The cake was okay, it had toothpicks in it to stop the frosting from touching the plastic wrap. It tasted fluffy and was really light, like an Angel’s food cake,” Greg Zhelezny said.

Another important aspect of Mardi Gras are the bright and colorful costumes and masks. Students were able to create their own paper masks and decorate them with feathers, beads, and glitter, embracing the nature of Mardi Gras.

“I used lots of feathers on mine, and it was a lot of fun, because everything was colorful even though there was glitter all over the tables,” Elinore Renyer said.

With Mardi Gras over now, the focus turns back to studying and work, until more multicultural holidays can be celebrated and learned about.

by JOEL TIMMS