BODY
While the Catholic Church hasn’t taken the trouble to establish a season specifically for the celebration of our native sinfulness, it’s the sort of subject the laity’s been able to undress, I mean, address of its own initiative.
“Winter Ordinary Time,” that brief period of the year set between the splendor and light of Christmas and the mournful cast of Lent is ideal for such a dirge… the darkness and chill of the world around us is a compelling argument for diffidence, decadence, and excess.
I’d like to suggest this is my own idea, but pre-Lenten partying has been an institution for centuries now. Wikipedia defines carnival as:
a holiday period during the two weeks before the traditional Christian fast of Lent. The name comes from the Italian carne- or carnovale, from Latin carnem (meat) + levare (lighten or raise), literally “to remove the meat” or “stop eating meat… This period of celebration and partying had its origin in the need to use up all remaining meat and animal products such as eggs and butter before the fasting season.”
As you can see, this festival can be celebrated wholesomely, in a cheerful, colorful, and Church-sanctioned manner, or not.
I won’t dolly up my sentiments. Mardi Gras and the lecentiousness of W.O.T. (in my book the “February Dance Party,”) is actually a celebration of our sinful nature… a desire to play within and about whatever we consider “bad.” And honestly, I think that’s fine. As long as we don’t lose anchor… as long as we aren’t violent and retain a hold on what is important to us, it’s good to remember that we are earthy, sensual, passionate creatures… that we are tied to all the furies and rages of the world around us, and that what fuels our wrath and lust also drives our sense of justice and love.
I’m going to be posting on each of the sins this Winter Ordinary Time (between now and Mardi Gras (February 8th), from the least to most grevious ordering. These posts will briefly explore the history of each traditional sin, offer and solicit comments on their dimensions, qualities, and significance and, most importantly, suggest a way of “celebrating” each sin in a galvanizing, productive, (ultimately) harmless, and (most essentially) fun way.
For starters, I refer you to A Brief History of Sin. The account is historical, but brief and a little irreverant, as frankly, this subject should be.
~ Connor