Mardi Gras, without the Fat Cow.

Yesterday was Mardi Gras (Fat Tuesday), the day before the beginning of Lent. Mardi Gras also marks the end of the Carnival period.

At the origin of the Carnival there were (of course !!) many old (and odd !!) habits from France. For example, the French took a fat cow around the roads of Paris to tell people not to eat meat during Lent.

 The word “carnival” means in Latin “to take away eating meat”.

Yesterday we celebrated Mardi Gras, and it didn’t have anything to do with a fat cow !!.

The young and the elderly of Reminiac came together. I arrived at the village hall with several other women, all heavily laden with crepes and cakes at about 3.00pm to prepare the hot chocolate for the children and to sugar the crepes.
But, we were beaten to it !!.. Five or six women in their seventies were bustling around the kitchen warming two huge pans of milk and worrying about the hot chocolate powder, was is the right sort ? and should they add some more sugar ?.

In the hall there were four or five bereted men, uncorking ten bottles of wine !.

At 3.30 the children arrived and they all went to have a chat to the elderly men and women, who, of course, complimented them on their costumes !!..

Yesterday afternoon the young and the elderly have come together in a very natural way. The interaction between the generations was just so easy and I really do hope that there will be many more events such like this.