With antecedents dating back to ancient religious festivals, the ritual slaughter of the boeuf gras (French for “fatted calf” or ox) came to symbolize the last meat and feasting enjoyed by Christians prior to the Lenten season of atonement and abstinence. In Paris, butchers would compete to see who could raise the biggest and most glorious boeuf gras. The winning beast would be paraded through the streets on Mardi Gras.