A few weeks back, French club held their annual Mardi Gras celebration to coincide with the traditional celebration held in historically francophone countries, nearby European countries, and, of course, France. Like many other cultural holidays, its origins may unfamiliar to us Americans.

Mardi Gras, literally “Fat Tuesday” in French, always falls the day before Ash Wednesday, which is 46 days before Easter. It was meant to be one last celebration before the pious fasting and ascetic obligations typically commanded by the proceeding season of Lent. More recently, the date has gained notoriety from the celebrations held around the world, most notably New Orleans.

Never, though, has the celebration strayed from its food focus. Jon Konecny ‘17, who also attended Oktoberfest earlier in the year, noted that this celebration was “better for sweet-tooths… or sweet-teeth, I guess.” He said, “eating the food was the best part for me, honestly. There were cupcakes, chocolate cake, and little French pastries called ‘madeleines’. Oh, and pumpkin spice crepes, too.”

Konecny maintained a smile when recounting the games played. “We had pin the tail on the Frenchmen, which I wasn’t too good at. Besides that there was a musical-chairs-type game where a crown was passed around and if you had it when the music stopped you were out.”. He added anecdotally, “Madame Taylor was letting those who were eliminated get food first, so soon everyone was sort of trying to get out.”

Taylor Hendricks ‘16, the French club president, is hopeful the successful celebration portends increased participation. Certain steps have already taken place, “as an example we did a scavenger hunt earlier in the year”, Hendricks said, “and also we’ve thought about starting a game called ‘l’assassin’.” The goal is to get more students involved in French club and International club. When asked what she enjoys most about French Club, her response was simple: “I enjoy practicing French and I enjoy the energy”.