The Start of Lent
I've only talked about religion once on the blog before, and that was around this time last year. I talked about how I would be avoiding telling Emmy the real reason behind Easter, and how I commemorate Good Friday every year.
Now what is it about the Easter season that makes me want to blog about it? First off, some of it is that I am fascinated by the way other religions celebrate things. It seems that Christmas is pretty much the same for everyone, but Easter practices vary considerably from religion to religion.
As a Catholic, Lent is a very important time for us. Today I will go to mass and get ashes on my forehead. I will abstain from meat today, and all Fridays during Lent. I will "give up" something for the 40 days as a penance to God for my sins.
I was obviously very naive when I was a kid, and just assumed every religion practiced similarly to ours. As I got older, I learned that there are a lot of tiny differences, as well as the big ones. I was curious about the Lenten season, and took to Twitter last night to ask.
Looks to me that Lent is mainly a Catholic thing. Other that Lutherans, we're the only ones to receive ashes. A few other religions observe Lent, but it seems like Catholics are the only ones to abstain. I think the "giving up" thing is also mainly a Catholic thing, but I think a lot of people have adopted that in their own way recently.
I won't lie, I have been far from an exemplary Catholic in the recent past. I would like that to change though, and Lent seems like the perfect time. So this Lent I commit myself to attending mass more regularly and abstaining from meat on Ash Wednesday and all Fridays. I have decided that as a family we will give up all take-out and restaurant food. No going out to eat, no ordering in, no picking up a bagel for lunch. Nothing. This will be hardest for me as I'm the one who will have to now cook all the meals we would have just picked up, but I'm up for the challenge.
So what are you giving up for Lent this year? Does your church have any Lenten traditions?
Now what is it about the Easter season that makes me want to blog about it? First off, some of it is that I am fascinated by the way other religions celebrate things. It seems that Christmas is pretty much the same for everyone, but Easter practices vary considerably from religion to religion.
As a Catholic, Lent is a very important time for us. Today I will go to mass and get ashes on my forehead. I will abstain from meat today, and all Fridays during Lent. I will "give up" something for the 40 days as a penance to God for my sins.
I was obviously very naive when I was a kid, and just assumed every religion practiced similarly to ours. As I got older, I learned that there are a lot of tiny differences, as well as the big ones. I was curious about the Lenten season, and took to Twitter last night to ask.
Looks to me that Lent is mainly a Catholic thing. Other that Lutherans, we're the only ones to receive ashes. A few other religions observe Lent, but it seems like Catholics are the only ones to abstain. I think the "giving up" thing is also mainly a Catholic thing, but I think a lot of people have adopted that in their own way recently.
I won't lie, I have been far from an exemplary Catholic in the recent past. I would like that to change though, and Lent seems like the perfect time. So this Lent I commit myself to attending mass more regularly and abstaining from meat on Ash Wednesday and all Fridays. I have decided that as a family we will give up all take-out and restaurant food. No going out to eat, no ordering in, no picking up a bagel for lunch. Nothing. This will be hardest for me as I'm the one who will have to now cook all the meals we would have just picked up, but I'm up for the challenge.
So what are you giving up for Lent this year? Does your church have any Lenten traditions?
This subject is always really interesting to me because I grew up pretty not-religious at all. My town was primarily a Catholic town and I remember being like, what the hell does everyone have dirt on their forehead? It was so confusing to me and it never really got properly explained. I've read up a bit on it but I like your explanation and how it shows what is important about the customs to you and your family.
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