Carnival and Mardis Gras

What in the world are a bunch of kids and adults doing running around San Pedro covered in paint and raw eggs?  I mean seriously, are they crazy?  Nope, it's just the annual Carnival that begins the Sunday before Ash Wednesday and ends very late in the night the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday, commonly known as 'Fat Tuesday' or Mardis Gras.  Yes, yes for years now Carnival has been a time where kids and adults just run around throwing paint on each other and raw eggs (don't ask me why).  It started this past Sunday and I didn't realize the seriousness of it until I was told that there are 2 streets I just can't go on or else I will get pegged.  Schools were either cancelled or they all had half days just so the kids would have a chance to run home if they did not want to participate.  Adults here do not leave their houses, especially tuesday night if they don't want to get messy.  I myself have remained at home doing work from 2 pm on.  I really don't know how this started or why we do it, but then again who knows how and why we started leaving cookies and milk out for "santa and his Reindeer" every Christmas Eve.  I am looking forward to Ash Wednesday this year when I will be able to bike to the Church in peace once again without people running up to me yelling "fresh meat" as they attempt to throw paint on me!