To the two previous GUESTS: Amen! (If you don't find that word offensive...) I sympathize with our many inoffensively and genuinely religious brethern, but you're right: That loud minority of in-your-face, bring-on-Armageddon fanatics is not only distasteful but dangerous, and ignoring them won't make them go away.

To McGrath: Carnival season ~ in communities where it is observed ~ actually extends from Twelfth Night (a fixed date, January 6) through Shrove/Fat Tuesday (a moveable feast). The earliest possible date for Mardi Gras Day is February 5 and the latest is in early March, so the length of Carnival season can vary from barely one month to two full months.

When the season is as short as this year's, scheduling of various social events tightens up a bit, and folks have less time to recover from the Christmas/New-Year holidays, shift gears, and start working on their costumes, etc.