In many parts of the world, this is the season of Carnival, wild celebrations involving processions, music, dancing, and the use of masquerade. This tradition has been the inspiration for numerous classical works and also provides the setting in literature and operas. Next Tuesday, it culminates with Mardi Gras, the final fling before the solemn season of Lent.
But the term Mardi Gras actually refers to the final dietary fling. For many Christians, Lent traditionally has been a time of discipline and self-denial. Since Medieval times, on the day before Ash Wednesday, cooks used up all of their eggs and butter. Families gorged. Mardi Gras means "fat Tuesday." On Ash Wednesday, they would begin a period of fasting.
This is not so different from what happens in nature. For wildlife, autumn is a carnival of consumption. Animals gorge on fruits and berries, seeds and nuts. Autumn is the season when oil- rich foods are available in nature, so by gorging on high fat food in fall, birds and mammals develop the fat layers which serve as insulation and internal fuel through the weeks of deprivation which we call winter.
For hibernating animals, winter really is a fast. But even winter-active creatures face a significant decrease in available food. Of course, in the case of animals, this reduced calorie intake is not a matter of self-denial.
Humans seem to be the only creatures for which gluttony is considered a sin.
