[thechat] King Preaches Abstinence to Parading Maidens

[Martin Burns]

On Wed, 11 Sep 2002, Erika Meyer wrote:

> Okay, back to Karnival (I've not been to Mardi Gras): I recall
> reading an article in a German women's magazine exploring the topic
> of whether it was okay to "cheat" on your partner during Karnival
> time.
>
> IOW, the assumption was that it is not okay at other times....
> but Karnival was some kind of special situation where you could
> consider "deviating."

That's ringing bells with me - I'm sure I've read of a number of cultures
who have a 'festival leniancy' tradition. Also sounds related to the 18th
Century tradition of masked balls - at a masked ball, you can be a
different persona and not behave according to the rules applying to your
normal identity. Hmm - I'm sure there's a Beltane (aka May Day) link in
there...

Cheers
Martin

---------------------------
"Names, once they are in common use, quickly
 become mere sounds, their etymology being
 buried, like so many of the earth's marvels,
 beneath the dust of habit." - Salman Rushdie