Shrove Tuesday/Mardi Gras

Written from the Perspective of a Member of the

Diversity and Inclusion Committee

In my last blog entitled “February Lifesavers” I wrote about two events which warmed our hearts  during the unrelenting cold and snow which plagued us throughout that month.  The first week in March we saw more of the same.  Fortunately for us the two groups that helped to brighten our spirits in February had planned an event for Shrove Tuesday (March fourth) which would once again warm us up on the inside while the cold winds blew outside. 

Members of the Diversity and Inclusion Committee began their explorations of ways to observe the day by clarifying the meaning of unfamiliar terms beginning with the word Shrove. They learned it means confess and is applied to the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday which begins the season of penitence and fasting known as Lent. The French term Mardi Gras which means “Fat Tuesday” derives from the custom of eating rich fatty foods on the day before Ash Wednesday as a way to rid the pantry of lard, sugar, fat, and butter before the Lenten practice of fasting observed by many Christian denominations. 

Committee members also learned that another name for Shrove Tuesday is Pancake Tuesday because in many different parts of the world pancakes are one of the foods frequently served as one way to use up rich foods on hand.  In addition they found that in Pennsylvania Dutch and many German areas fastnachts, fried doughnuts, are quite popular on this day.  The name comes from two Gernman words: “faster” which means “to fast” and “nacht” which means “night” indicating the eve of the traditional Lenten fast. The German version is made from yeast dough, deep fried, and coated or dusted in powdered sugar or cinnamon sugar; they may be plain or filled with fruit jam. Pennsylvania Dutch fasnachts can often be potato doughnuts, and may be uncoated, dusted with table sugar, or powdered with confectioner's sugar.   It quickly became apparent that the help of our dining staff would be essential to carry out a meaningful observance of Shrove Tuesday/Mardi Gras.

 Thus it was that the Diversity and Inclusion Committee and our outstanding dining staff came together to provide us with a taste of Shrove Tuesday and Mardi Gras traditions by offering us free pancakes and fastnachts at lunch on Shrove Tuesday.  As we entered the Heller Dining Room that day we found it decorated with colorful beads, masks, and glitter which created a festive atmosphere reflecting the carnival nature of Mardi Gras.   Research on the background of this aspect of Mardi Gras revealed that it goes back hundreds and hundreds of years when followers of the Catholic religion in Italy started the tradition of holding a wild costume festival right before the first day of Lent.  Because Catholics are not supposed to eat meat during Lent, they called their festival, carnevale, which means “to put away the meat.”  Over time the practice of carnivals spread throughout the world.

In the Bistro Jim, our Executive Chef, along with members off his staff were kept busy at  the grill making pancakes.  Everyone who had a pancake or two or three proclaimed them to be light, fluffy, and delicious.  In a word: perfect.  Fastnachts and crullers were available on the counter next to the grill. 

 

A pancake flipping contest in the Heller Dining Room proved to be a fun time for both spectators and participants.  A supply of skillets and cooked pancakes gave residents and staff members a chance to demonstrate their skill or lack thereof.  The objective of the contest was to see how many times a contestant could flip a pancake in thirty seconds.  The picture below shows the three top “flippers.”  Seen on the far right is Joan, one of our newest residents, who flipped her pancake 40 times.  On her left are two staff members, Stella and David, who tied for second place by flipping their pancakes 36 times.  The spectators joined the fun by cheering and poking good natured fun according to the degree of skill  or ineptitude displayed by the contestants.

 

 

 

 

 

February Lifesavers

 

 

 

 

 When I lived in a suburb of Philadelphia one of the local television weathermen used to always say about February, “It’s the longest month of the year when it comes to weather.”  Never was that statement truer than this past month setting all kinds of new records of the sort we could very well have done without.

 

Fortunately here at Kendal at Granville we had two really bright spots which warmed our hearts and brightened our spirits.  The first was a gift from our dining staff who served us a sumptuous Valentine Dinner. Our tables were set with tablecloths and napkins in the traditional colors or the day.  At each place there was a special favor – a chocolate heart on a paper lace doily.

 

The meal began with a choice of crab bisque or cream of mushroom barley soup along with shrimp cocktail.  The entrees were filet mignon with sautéed mushrooms, portobello mushroom stuffed with cheddar and poblano pepper., chicken breast stuffed with goat cheese served with mushroom wine sauce, grilled salmon with pistachio basil butter.  Along with the entrees came offerings of asparagus spears, roasted fresh red beets with pine nuts, twice baked potatoes, and baked fresh yams.  All of this was topped off by a chocolate fountain with fruit kebobs and marshmallows.  Of course, there were, as always several flavors of ice cream available.  Like many of the menu items we ended up “stuffed.” In deed we were kings and queens for the evening thanks to our thoughtful cooks, servers, and wait staff.

 

The second event occurred on the last Sunday of the month when our Diversity and Inclusion Committee as a part of our observance of Black History Month brought to us Stafford C. Berry, Jr  a nationally known performing artist and educator.  As an Assistant Professor at Denison University, Granville, Ohio he teaches Dance and Black Studies classes. His many credentials include Associate Artistic  Director of the African American Dance Ensemble of the North Carolina Dance Institute and as a member of Kariamu & Company Traditions he has taught, choreographed, and performed African rooted dance and theater throughout the United States.



 

This very tall man with a deep compelling voice dressed in his African dance costume brought with him a group of his students who provided us with an exciting and interesting presentation consisting of a lecture demonstration featuring African dance and music.  The announcement of the program promised that we would be entertained, educated, and engaged in a rich African cultural experience and we were not disappointed.  The energy in the room was electrifying and left us both energized and exhausted just watching all of those young students respond so enthusiastically to their charismatic teacher.  I suspect that many others felt as I did that it ended too soon.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



The second event occurred on the last Sunday of the month when our Diversity and Inclusion Committee as a part of our observance of Black History Month brought to us Stafford C. Berry, Jr  a nationally known performing artist and educator.  As an Assistant Professor at Denison University, Granville, Ohio he teaches Dance and Black Studies classes. His many credentials include Associate Artistic  Director of the African American Dance Ensemble of the North Carolina Dance Institute and as a member of Kariamu & Cmpany Traditions he has taught, choreographed, and performed African rooted dance and theater throughout the United States.