I don't celebrate Mardi Gras because I usually celebrate St. Valentine's Day and St. Paddy's Day. I can only do so much celebrating and then I have to get serious in a hurry.

Yes, I have even been in Rio for Mardi Gras but in normal lfe we just have Pancakes :)

I used to because as a costumer it was my second biggest money maker of the year. I loved Mardi Gras. The costumes were more fun, too.

i do not celebrate mardi gras also known as carnival in brazil. the reason being; according to a magazine article quoted word for word: "the music tears you from your chair, moves your feet, flushes your head-yor've got carnival fever! indeed, each year carnival raised the heartbeat of millions around the world, but nowhere is the fever as hot as in the country where michael lives, brazil. during the week before ash wednesday, brazil puts on its most splendid dress, throws away its clocks and calendars, and plunges into a spectacle that rocks the country from the amazon forest to the beaches of rio de janeiro. it's time to sing, to samba, and to forget. "that's one reason why it's so popular," explains michael, who was an ardent carnival celebrator for years. "carnival gives people a chance to forget their misery." and especially for millions of poor-living without enough water, electricity, employment, and without hope-there is plenty to forget. to them carnival is like an aspirin, it may not cure the problems, but at least it numbs the pain. add to this the view of carnival held by some of the catholic clergy-one bishop said that carnival is "very useful for people's psychological balance." so it is easy to see why many feel that carnival is a helpful and sanctioned distraction. what, though. of the bible's view of carnival celebrations? merrymaking or revelry? God's Word says that there is "a time to laugh...and a time to skip about.(eclesiastes 3:4)since the hebrew word for "laugh" may also be translated "celebrate," it is clear that as far as our creator is concerned, there is nothing wrong with our having a wholesome, good time. (1samuel 18:6,7) in fact, God's Word tells us to be glad and rejoice. (eclesiastes 3:22: 9:7) so the bible approves of appropriate merrymaking. the bible, however, does not embrace all sorts of merrymaking. the apostle paul states that revelry, or boisterous merrymaking, belongs to the "works of he flesh" and that practicers of revelry will "not inherit God's kingdom." (galatians 5:19-21) paul admonished christians, therefore , to "walk decently, not in revelries." (romans 13:13) so the question is, in which category does carnival belong-innocent merrymaking or licentious revelry? to answer, let us first further explain what the bible views as revelry. the word "revelry," or ko'mos in greek, occurs three times in the greek scriptures. always in an unfavorable sense (romans 13:13; galatians 5:21;1 peter 4:3) and no wonder because ko'mos sprouts from infamous celebrations well-known to greek speaking early christians. which ones? historian will durant explains: a company of people carrying sacred phalli (symbol of the male sex organ)and singing chants to dionysus...constituted, in greed terminology, a ko'mos or revel." dionysus, the god of wine in greek mythology, was later adopted by the romans, who renamed him bacchus. yet, the ko'mos connection survived the name change. bible scholar dr. james macknight writes: the word ko'mois comes for comus, the god of feasting and reveling. these revelings were performed in honor of bacchus, who on that account was named comastes. yes, celebrations for dionysus and bacchus were the very embodiments of revelry. what were the features of these feasts? revelry portrayed during the greek festivities honoring dionysus, acording to durant, crowds of celebrators "drank without restraint, and...considered him witless who would not lose his wits. they marched in wild procession...and as they drank and danced they fell into a frenzy in which all bonds were loosed." in a similar vein, roman festivals honoring bacchus featured drinking and lascivious songs and music and were the scenes of very dishonorable actions," writes macknight. thus frenzied crowds, heavy drinking, lustful dancing and music, and immoral sex formed the basic ingredients of greek-roman revelries. do today's carnivals contain these revelry-producing ingredients? consider a few quotes from news reports on carnival celebrations: extremely raucous crowds." "a four-day spree of drinking and all-night partying." "carnical hang-over can last several days for some revellers." the near deafening sounds of close quarters make the shows of heavy metal groups... pale by comparison." "today, any carnival celebration without gays is like a steak qu polvre without pepper." "carnival has become a synonym for complete nudity." carnival dances featured "scenes of masturbtion...and various forms of sexual intercourse." indeed, the similarities between today's carnivals and those ancient feasts are so striking that a bacchus reveler would hardly miss a beat if he were to wake up in the midst of a modern-day carnival party. and that should not surprise us, comments brazilian trelevision producer claudio petraglia, for he says that today's carnival "originates form the feasts of dionysus and bacchus and that, really, is the nature of carnival." the new encyclopaedia brittanica states that the carnival may be linked to the pagan saturnalia festival of ancient rome. so the carnival, while belonging to a different era, belongs to the same falmily as its predesessors. the family's name? revelry. what effect should this knowledge have on christians today? the same effect as it had on early christians living in the greek-influenced provinces in asia minor. before, becoming christians they used to indulge "in deeds of loose conduct, lusts, excesses with wine, revelries, drinking matches, and illegal idolatries." (1peter 1:1; 4:3,4) however, after learning that God views revelries as "works of the flesh belonging to darkness, "they ceased participating in carnivalike celebrations-romans 13:12-14. michael, mentioned before, did the same. he explains why: as my bible knowledge grew, isaw that carnival celebrations and bible principles are like oil and water-they simply don't mix." in 1979, michael made up his mind. he quit carnival celebrations for good. and thus my reason why i will never participate in mardi gras or carnival. information bsed on AWAKE MAGAZINE, for more information go to www.watchtower.org