Mardi Gras and Iphone photos

Mardi Gras is a theme for a celebration before Lent begins every year usually beginning in the month of March...sometimes February. It's based on some kind of religious calendar I don't understand and haven't researched enough. Lent is a Christian event which marks the 40 days and nights Jesus Christ wandered the dessert and prepared for his inevitable crucification and Easter rising from the dead. The few weeks leading up to Easter are usually a time of more focused fasting and charitable works for most Christians...but I'm most familiar with the Catholic practices. The Tuesday night before it begins is sometimes called Fat Tuesday as it would be the last night to eat big and party until lent is over. Used to be very strictly followed by Catholics when I was young. Now it seems more as a time of reflection and disciplined abstinance. It's good to challenge ourselves to abstain from our favorite foods and not party as much sometimes. Grounds us. Having said that I think some exceptions would have to include things like: St. Patrick's Day and of course Spring Flings celebrating the first days of Spring in March also. However, you get the main idea.

I recently got an Iphone4..couldn't wait for the Iphone5 coming out later this year I think..but what was cool about this phone is the camera in the phone...it takes photos both directions. The only criticism I have for that, and it's probably my fault since I'm not sure how to use all the settings, is that the quality is still very low...however...I did take some photos of recent Mardi Gras paraphenalia with the phone I'd like to share. They look ok on the website...so for bloggin they are not too bad. I love masks and I have gathered quite a collection...which is a subject for another post. Here were some new ones for this year. The last photo is one of a pastry called the King's cake. It is a dessert that is supposed to have a little figure of a baby and a hard bean in it somewhere. The one who finds these in their slice are supposed to have good luck or money throughout the year. Bakeries around here don't put them in the pastry due to a fear of causing a choking hazard....which could be very real if you aren't expecting to find these interesting artifacts. Enjoy!