By John C. O'Connell
Face painting, dancing, plenty of luscious hot dogs and games were enough to keep the merrymakers busy in gladness.
Mardi Gras, from the Old French words mardi, Tuesday, and gras, fat, is a traditional celebration before Ash Wednesday brings 40 days of Lenten fasting and abstinence. It is a day like carnival, from the Latin carne vale, meaning goodbye to meat.
