Like many Roman Catholic holidays, Mardi Gras (also called “Carnival” in many countries) resembles ancient pagan rituals, particularly Saturnalia and Lupercalia. It’s celebrated predominately in Roman Catholic communities in Europe and the Americas and is a time of unrestrained revelry. Mardi Gras is considered to be the last day for indulging in the pleasures of the flesh before Lent begins. In fact, the word Carnival means “farewell to the flesh,” and comes from the Latin words carnis (“flesh”) and vale (“farewell”). As pagans converted to Roman Catholicism, a counterfeit of true Biblical Christianity, they did not want to give up this popular celebration. Seeing that it was impossible to divorce the new converts from their pagan customs, they decided to try to “Christianize” this festival. Thus, Carnival was created as a time of revelry immediately preceding Lent, but nowhere in the Bible can one find Carnival or Lent. During Carnival, participants indulge in madness and hedonism, including fornication, lewdness, drunkenness, and revelries which Gal. 19-21 reads those who practice such things will not inherit the Kingdom of God.
One may want to check out this post about the real spirit behind revelries.
2 Corinthians 6:14-18
14 Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness? 15 And what accord has Christ with Belial? Or what part has a believer with an unbeliever? 16 And what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For you are the temple of the living God. As God has said:
“I will dwell in them
And walk among them.
I will be their God,
And they shall be My people.”
17 Therefore
“Come out from among them
And be separate, says the Lord.
Do not touch what is unclean,
And I will receive you.”
18 “I will be a Father to you,
And you shall be My sons and daughters,
Says the Lord Almighty.”
1 John 2:15-17
Do Not Love the World
15 Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world. 17 And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever.
The Columbia Encyclopedia states:
Carnival communal celebration, especially the religious celebration in Catholic countries that takes place just before Lent.
Since early times carnivals have been accompanied by parades, masquerades, pageants, and other forms of revelry that had their origins in pre-Christian pagan rites, particularly fertility rites that were connected with the coming of spring and the rebirth of vegetation.
One of the first recorded instances of an annual spring festival is the festival of Osiris in Egypt; it commemorated the renewal of life brought about by the yearly flooding of the Nile. In Athens, during the 6th cent. BC, a yearly celebration in honor of the god Dionysus was the first recorded instance of the use of a float.
It was during the Roman Empire that carnivals reached an unparalleled peak of civil disorder and licentiousness. The major Roman carnivals were the Bacchanalia, the Saturnalia, and the Lupercalia. In Europe the tradition of spring fertility celebrations persisted well into Christian times, where carnivals reached their peak during the 14th and 15th cent.
Because carnivals are deeply rooted in pagan superstitions and the folklore of Europe, the Roman Catholic Church was unable to stamp them out and finally accepted many of them as part of church activity
More sources:
http://www.history.com/topics/holidays/mardi-
grashttp://www.catholic.org/clife/lent/mardigras.php
http://www.ibtimes.com/mardi-gras-2015-how-christians-celebrate-fat-tuesday-1817910
If you don’t know Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, you can receive Him into your heart, and He can deliver you from darkness and sin and have your name written in His Book of Life.
If you are sincere, you can say this simple prayer to the Father (it doesn’t have to be word for word):
“God, I recognize that I have not lived my life for You up until now. I have been living for myself and that is wrong. Please forgive me of all of my sins just as I forgive others. I need You in my life; I want You in my life. I acknowledge the completed work of Your only begotten Son Jesus Christ in giving His life for me on the cross, I believe in my heart Jesus is Lord and was raised from the dead and I long to receive the forgiveness you have made freely available to me through this sacrifice. Come into my life now, Lord. Take up residence in my heart and be my king, my Lord, and my Savior. From this day forward, I will no longer be controlled by sin, or the desire to please myself, but I will follow You all the days of my life. Those days are in Your hands. I ask this in the Lord and GOD Jesus’ precious and holy name. Amen.”