Thought Ernest Had a Second E....

Helau! (I'll explain below.) Bis dann, abwarten und tee trinken, klar? 

I offered this a long time ago, though 'not long enough,' some might say. 

Pshaw!  At the time, I called it:

Jetzt Wird Es Ernst

Reading some notes from around the world online over the weekend, I realized in Mainz, Germany (and elsewhere) today is Rosenmontag followed by Fastnacht Dienstag. Meanwhile, on this side of the pond, it's Mardi Gras in New Orleans. 

Rosenmontag in Dusseldorf, 2025

There are many variations of an 'eat, drink and be merry' mentality as we rush towards Ash Wednesday. Tradition has it, that the ash placed on your forehead by the priest who reminds you to 'remember man, that thou art dust and unto dust thou shalt return' is actually made from burning the palm that remained from the previous year's Palm Sunday (the day that starts Holy Week and marks the triumphant arrival of Jesus into Jerusalem). 

As a loyal son of the Holy Mother Church, I know all the rituals and the words that accompany them. My memory isn't the problem; my heart is, but that's not my point today. 

As kids, and even as adults, we sometimes lose sight of where we might best concentrate on the calendar in terms of whatever you might wish to call spirituality. It's easy to celebrate Christmas and to believe in its importance, and of course, the Birth of the Saviour should more often than not pass the "huh?" test. 

But I think the defining points that made me a Catholic and a Christian (or the other way around, I'm never sure which is a subset of what) are the death of Christ and His Resurrection. 

I'm not sure how we in The West (capitalization? Why Not?) have managed to balance the passion of the Christ, His Crucifixion, Burial, and His Resurrection with pieces of chocolate and the Easter Bunny. I'm not even sure this entry will get reposted in the Cadbury Factory newsletter or be read aloud on Easter Monday in Hershey, Pennsylvania, but that's how I see the world. 

I'm neither Cotton nor Increase Mather, early colonial ministers one of whom purportedly said 'the purpose of life is to prepare us to be dead for a long time.' Talk about harshing your buzz. Maybe that's why you never saw a Pilgrim smile. 
-bill kenny