Super Fat Giant Tuesday

Today was a rare day. It was Super Tuesday. It was Fat Tuesday. It was Giant Tuesday. It was Super Fat Giant Tuesday here in New York, a rare occurrence indeed. I believe it only happens once every couple thousand years, much like one of those cult-inducing comets.

It was Super Tuesday on account of the oncoming Presidential election. Just about every state in the union had their primary election today, accounting for the majority of the votes in the primary stage of the election process. Since most votes for the primary are cast today, typically it is the day when, once all the votes are tallied, the winner of each nomination can more or less be declared. Thus, it is a very important day for the candidates and for voting in general. And because it is so important, it has been deemed "Super". At least that is my understanding.

New York was one of the states that was involved in this year's Super Tuesday, and thus a lot of people went to the polls. I was not one of them, however, because I am not registered in New York. I'm sorry to let my country down.

Fat Tuesday is the day that immediately precedes Ash Wednesday, in the Catholic tradition of Lent. Since a major part of Lent involves making sacrifices in order to improve your faith, Fat Tuesday has been made a tradition to party really hard and try to get as many vices in before the clock strikes midnight and Lent officially begins. This holiday is celebrated with high regard in cities like Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, known as Carnivale, and, of course in New Orleans and St. Louis, where it is known by most Americans as Mardi Gras. It has been extended into the days and weeks leading up to Fat Tuesday (it turns out people enjoy partying way more than giving things up), but as tradition has it, the biggest celebration is always saved for Fat Tuesday.

The celebration of Fat Tuesday was not as apparent in New York as it is in other cities, but the spirit is still there. I saw people wearing beads throughout the day, and the themes at all the bars that night were appropriately Fat Tuesday/Mardi Gras.

The culmination of events that could happen all at once on this fateful day of celebratory obligation was the celebration of the New York Football Giants' recent winning of the Super Bowl. It goes without saying that it was a pretty big deal to New York sports fans. I happened to have the esteemed pleasure of being located in the heart of downtown, amidst thousands of dedicated fans for the victory parade and the contagious collective effervescence of cheering for the home team.
It was fun. I was able to be a part of something that doesn't happen very often, and I was all the more appreciative of the Giants' victory in seeing how happy it made all of my fellow New Yorkers.
The rest of the day fans wore blue and continued to celebrate, adding to the madness that was already cumulating due to everyone voting and partying.

I'm not sure if there is much else you could jam into a Tuesday. It was quite a day for New York. I'm happy I was able to see it with my own eyes. It'll probably be a while before it comes around again.