Mardi Gras is a last hurrah before the Catholic Lent period, not just a good excuse to get drunk and flash strangers for beads.
Also known as fat Tuesday, Mardi Gras is a way to let loose before the 40-day fasting season.
Mary Ann Barrett, campus minister for Aquinas Newman Center, said the term comes from the tradition of people clearing out their pantries before Lent.
"In the beginning, people would use up all their food before the fast," she said. "We want to prepare for a season that concentrates on prayer, almsgiving and the fasting of the spirit and body."
Almsgiving involves using the money saved from fasting to donate to charities or less fortunate people, Barrett said.
The SUB will host a Mardi Gras celebration today in the atrium from noon to 1 p.m.
Misty Salaz, marketing communications specialist at the SUB, said the event was created to thank students for using their services.
The Mardi Gras celebration will offer free king cake and virgin hurricanes, she said. The Duke City Jazz band will play.
Salaz said last year's party was a success.
"The turnout was really good," she said. "We ran out of the king cake in about 30 minutes. This year, we put in a bigger order."
The Newman Center celebrated Mardi Gras early Saturday with refreshments and dancing.
Barrett said the center has been throwing parties for fat Tuesday for three years. She said she wasn't too happy with the turnout this year.
Get content from The Daily Lobo delivered to your inbox
"We only had about 20 people come," she said, adding in the past, 50 or 60 people attended. She said people might have been preparing for another big event.
"I always blame everything on the Super Bowl," Barrett said.
Sue Winder, an X-Ray technician at the Student Health Center, said she decorated her office this year for Mardi Gras and attended the parade in New Orleans a few years ago.
"It was so much fun," she said. "But you have to like crowds, because you're cramped in."
Freshman Stacey Begay said she isn't planning on doing anything on fat Tuesday.
"I usually don't celebrate Mardi Gras," she said.
The day before Mardi Gras is referred to as Collop Monday, or pancake day, Barrett said.
She said people would traditionally use up all of their milk, eggs and lard on that day, usually preparing pancakes.
"It really does make sense that you would want to use up all of this food," Barrett said. "You clear out your pantry to concentrate on your interior life."
Fasting is good for the body, she said, but it's not just about giving up favorite treats. It's also about giving back to the community.
"Just giving up things is not the fullness of the season," she said. "It's intended to make us conscious of God."
The word "carnival" also relates to Mardi Gras, Barrett said. She said it's a French word meaning "farewell to meat."
"The carnival in New Orleans is a different kind," she said, laughing. "You're not supposed to commit every sin before the season."
