Epiphany

January 6 is The Feast of the Three Kings. The Feast of the Epiphany. The 12th Day of Christmas. 12th Night. The beginning of Mardi Gras.

One of my coworkers brought a Rosca de Reyes. It is the Mexican version of a King Cake. It tasted like pan dulce.

It's a long Mardi Gras season this year. Mardi Gras is on March 1 so there is plenty of time for revelry and debauchery.

Laissez les bon temps rouler!

Last night was the Krewe's Royal Affair. There was a team of us that put this together but Blaine gets the credit for having the vision of using the lobby of The Alley Theater for the event.

The multi-level atrium lobby was the perfect venue for displaying the trains for former Krewe Royalty. Guests were able to mix & mingle while viewing the trains, bidding on hand decorated masks and partaking of adult beverages and nibbley things.

Around 930p I realized I had not sampled the food and oops it was almost all gone. I did hear that the food was wonderful. I spent my evening catching up with folks that I hadn't seen in awhile. Can't remember when I have talked so much (and I do talk quite a bit).

Dennis from The Alley was great to work with...again. And the bar manager made me laugh. You see...

Last year we did the Captain's Party for the Krewe's underwriters in the Board Room of The Alley. We drank a bunch of vodka and they ran out. This time around he brought in extra supplies of vodka and had another staff member to help. We *heart* vodka.

Because the party was on January 5 it wasn't a Mardi Gras party. You see...

Mardi Gras season officially begins today on The Feast Of The Three Kings also known as The Epiphany. I have included some information for you about the Feast Day.

Three Kings Day

The Feast of the Epiphany, celebrated each Jan. 6, is also known as Three Kings Day. It commemorates the day on which the three wise men visited the infant Jesus, bearing gifts.

• The date marks the end of the Twelve Days of Christmas.

• In some European and Latin American cultures, Jan. 6, not Christmas Day, is when gifts are exchanged.

• Some of the biggest celebrations are in Puerto Rico, where children leave hay in their shoes overnight for the kings' camels. In Latin America, the day is known as El Día de los Reyes or Día de los Reyes Magos.

• Three Kings Day is the first day of the celebration that ends with Mardi Gras. By tradition, king cakes are served.

OK. In a couple of hours, I will join my fellow Krewe members for our first bite of King Cake. It's sort of like eating black-eye peas or menudo for good luck on the first day of the new year.

In case you don't know, it is a VERY short Mardi Gras season. Several recent conversations have had this as their main topic of discussion.

Here is the short answer...the way I understand it. In 1582, Pope Gregory XIII ordered the advancement of the calendar by 10 days. He used the Gregorian Calendar to prevent further errors.

Easter is determined this way...it is the first Sunday AFTER the first full moon AFTER the Spring Equinox. And if I understand it correctly, this became a part of the Gregorian Calendar. So you see, Easter will never be before March 21.

So now you have to back up 46 days from Easter to determine the date of Ash Wednesday which is the first day of Lent.

THEN back up one more day and you have Fat Tuesday (aka Mardi Gras).

For 2008 here are the dates:

• January 6 - Beginning of Mardi Gras season (This date never changes.)


• February 5 - Mardi Gras (Fat Tuesday)


• February 6 - Ash Wednesday


• March 23 - Easter Sunday

As I have mentioned in a previous post, my party season doesn't end with the new year. For instance...

• King Cake Party today


• King Cake Party next Saturday at Kenny & Steve's


• Mystery & Fantasy Ball - A Pirate's Fantasy on January 19


• Krewe Ball - Olympus @ The Library on January 26

I'm already tired!

So get ready to earn some beads. ;-)