Winning English - Mastering Idioms, Slang, and Cultural References
Fat Tuesday/Mardi Gras • Ash Wednesday • Lent • Easier to ask forgiveness than to get permission
Lately there have been a lot of holidays to talk about, and this time is no different! Today I explore a set of religious holidays that are commonly celebrated in the West and elsewhere.
This past Tuesday was Fat Tuesday, which in the US is often called by its French name, Mardi Gras.
Fat Tuesday is a fun and colorful holiday, often filled with costumes, parades, and good food. The US city of New Orleans has a very famous Fat Tuesday celebration.
Why have all of this fun? Because for many Christians, the next day is Ash Wednesday. Ash Wednesday is a day when many Christians think about death. The idea is that people come from “ashes” and will someday return to “ashes”. It’s not a happy topic, and that’s fitting, because Ash Wednesday is the beginning of a religious season called Lent.
Lent is a somber and serious time. Christians who observe Lent - that is, “do” Lent - often fast. “To fast” is a verb that means to not eat or drink anything for a certain amount of time. They also often abstain from certain foods, like meat. “To abstain” from something means to not eat, drink, or even do something, like smoking. During Lent, Christians also often repent for their sins. “To repent” is to ask forgiveness for doing something bad, and “sins” are very bad actions.
So, why have such a serious season? Because Lent is right before when Christians remember the death of the Christian savior, Jesus Christ.
However, don’t worry too much, because Christians soon celebrate the rebirth of Jesus Christ on Easter. Naturally, Easter is a happier time. I’ll discuss some Easter vocabulary and traditions closer to that holiday.
As I mentioned, Lent is about asking for forgiveness. To finish up, I thought I’d share with you a famous quote about forgiveness that’s not at all religious.
“It's easier to ask forgiveness than it is to get permission.”
Sometimes in a company, a bureaucracy, or any kind of organization, something important must get done, even if management is unlikely to agree at first. That’s leaves you with a choice. Ask permission and get told no, or do it anyway and ask forgiveness after you succeed. This quote encourages you to just go for it.
This saying has been around in various forms for a long time, but it was made famous by Grace Hopper, a US Naval officer and an early pioneer of computer programming.
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Brrr! Bill, you really love us, your subscribers, to be out in that frosty weather!