It’s the first Friday of Lent for the million plus Catholics who call Louisiana home, and for many of them, that means ditching red meat and chowing down on seafood.
If you were raised in south Louisiana, the question, "did you get your ashes and what are you giving up for Lent?" is not at all strange to you. Nearly a third of the state's population is Catholic.
In a letter dated March 3, 2010, Jim Piculas of Covington received exciting news from the Archbishop of New Orleans: "Alligator is acceptable during Lent".