where do the words mardi and gras come from
Mardi Gras Mardi Gras (/ˈmɑːrdiɡrɑː/), also called Shrove Tuesday,[1] or Fat Tuesday,[2][3][4][5] in English, refers to events of the Carnival celebrations, beginning on or after the Christian feasts of the Epiphany (Three Kings Day) and culminating on the day before Ash Wednesday. Mardi Gras is French for "Fat Tuesday", reflecting the practice of the last night of eating richer, fatty foods before the ritual fasting of the Lenten season.
Christmas The form Christenmas was also historically used, but is now considered archaic and dialectal;[35] it derives from Middle English Cristenmasse, literally "Christian mass".[36] Xmas is an abbreviation of Christmas found particularly in print, based on the initial letter chi (Χ) in Greek Khrīstos (Χριστός), "Christ", though numerous style guides discourage its use;[37] it has precedent in Middle English Χρ̄es masse (where "Χρ̄" is an abbreviation for Χριστός).[36]