Mardi Gras!

Okay, I'm not one to post pet peeves, but I have to get this off of my mind. Today is Mardi Gras, an interesting celebration predominantly found in historically Catholic communities. I get it, and I don't mind that it's turned into St. Patrick's Day on steroids.

What I am tired of is this: It is called Mardi Gras. I know that this roughly transliterates to fat Tuesday, and I think everyone should know this. Teach this to your children, etc. However, once you understand this, STOP CALLING IT "FAT TUESDAY"!!! The web is full of blog posts today calling today Fat Tuesday, somehow trying to get us to respect the cultural knowledge of the author. The news this morning (well, CNN and FoxNews) has smiling faces reminding us what Mardi Gras means in English... If we don't watch out, five years from now Fat Tuesday will be an acceptable title. NO!

I was in New Orleans two years ago during Mardi Gras. Wow. The streets smelled like the best food, and the worst garbage. I saw hineys, hoo-hoos, and ha-has. (Language.) I ate Crawfish Étouffée at five different restaurants, each one unique and totally awesome (well, except for what was served on a riverboat cruise we took to the battlefield, we skipped that meal to eat another one in the French Quarter.)

Despite my dislike for "renaming" Mardi Gras, I don't mind it when people call the Quarter "Vieux Carre." Not that I do this, but it does seem to separate those who've been there or not. (Is who've a proper contraction?)

One of the interesting things that I learned that week was the local pronunciation of "New Orleans." The police, the mayor, and the newscaster's pronounce it: New Or-Lee-uhns (4 syllables). This happens to be the way *I* have always pronounced it. I will NEVER stand for someone correcting me on that pronunciation again. If you are a Cajun, you have the right to say "Na-Awl-linz,"(only 2 syllables) but that is not how the city folk pronounce it. And I am a big fan of pronouncing a city like the locals. (I can pronounce Norfolk the Nebraska way and the Virginia way.)

"Laissez les Bon Temp Roulez!"

--gh