Tradition

 I posted this picture this morning, before I enjoyed my malasada at Sol Mar.

I talked about how this Lenten pastry is quite similar to the Fastnacht kuechlen that my Mother would make on the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday.  It is a deep fried yeast dough with sugar on the outside.  Mother always used cinnamon sugar, but I guess that is a matter of preference.  Both were delicious!

It brings me to the whole idea of tradition.  There is a famous (at least in our family) line in the movie Ever After where "Cinderella" insists on waving goodbye to her Dad as he rides down the lane from their home.  "It's tradition!"

Below me on the street, the horns are blaring, signaling the arrival of the trucks for the water battle.  The best word to describe this event is insanity.  The trucks have been loading up plastic bags full of water for 2 days (I saw some being done in Lagoa yesterday) and today they drive along one stretch of the waterfront road and mayhem ensues.  Trucks battle each other, guys on trucks throw into the crowd, people of all ages on the ground throw bags at each other.  Sometimes one group runs out of bags and another group will donate bags in order for the battle to continue.  

It went on for about an hour.  Yes, I went down and got wet too.  If you throw, you are fair game as a target, but there is a lot of collateral damage if you are just standing in the target zone.  It is crazy, good clean fun -- except for the drifts of plastic bags that now cover the road.  But don't worry, the cleaning crew will be out soon, bolstered by the participants who also help with the clean up.  By the morning, the fences will be down, the drains will be open again and life will go on as normal.  

I guess it was the last hurrah before the solemn season of Lent which is observed on this island with pilgrimages.  

I include a link to an album of all the pictures and videos I took this afternoon.  You should watch in order to get the full effect.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/5gJBGuT7qnHTxmNbA

The Mardis Gras tradition is very common in Christian or formerly Christian societies.  Last Friday there was the children's parade and on Saturday there were masked balls all over the island.  Ian can attest to the revelry going on all night.  (I slept through it all.)

So, enjoy your semla bun (Sweden) or pancakes (Canada) or Fastnacht kuechlen (Germany) or malasadas (here), but remember it is the tradition that links you to the past and will bind your future.