Given that we're a little over half way through lent and people still give me slightly concerned/puzzled looks when I refuse chocolate (well, I'd be concerned about me too), I think it's time for an explanation of the tradition, and why - when I tend to have issues with most other catholic doctrine - I still keep it up.
Lent - or 'the easy Ramadan' if you like - has been a part of the Christian church since its beginnings. Traditionally, it's a period of prayer, self denial, and almsgiving (or 'charity' now, since homeless people might have nut allergies). In theory, it lasts 40 days, representing the time Jesus - according to the Bible - spent quoting scripture to the devil in the desert before beginning his ministry (at 30. He was a late bloomer).
[As an aside, 40 is one of those numbers that comes up all over the Bible: Moses spent 40 days with God on Mt. Sinai, It rained for 40 days and 40 nights while Noah was tucked up in the ark, and the Hebrews spent 40 years wandering around looking for the promised land, amongst other examples.]
In actual fact, no one is really sure how long it is exactly. The Catholic church in Ireland usually counts it as Ash Wednesday to Easter Sunday, which is 46 days, and some churches cop out and take Sundays off because, apparently, they're like a 'mini easter'. It could be worse though - there are orthodox churches that observe 55 days of lent - with no loopholes.
Anyway, nowadays, especially in the Catholic church, it's more like a recommendation than an obligation (it used to be considered a mortal sin not to stick to the rules of lent - i.e. you're off to hell if you're not eating fish on Fridays) but in Ireland, people have kept up the tradition of 'going off something' and I think it's a pretty good idea.
Aside from the excuse the beginning of lent brings to live it up a bit in February (see Pancake Tuesday and Rio Carnaval) lent, for me, is still a tradition worth holding on to - and most of my reasons (ok, all of them) have very little to do with religion. I'm not a drinker or a smoker, but I have a killer sweet tooth, and eat way more sugar than I should, so I give up sweets, soft drinks, cakes, buns, biscuits (American translation: candy, soda, cupcakes, cookies...) and chocolate from mid February until Easter (usually at the beginning of April). Here's why:
1. The Challenge: Plain and simple. I want to see if I can do it. And I feel good when I do (and guilty when I don't).
2. Health: Like a sugar-detox. It can only be a good thing. And when I have to consciously stop myself from eating all the sweet treats I'm used to, I realise how often I reach for them without even thinking about it.
3. Character building: This one is a little trickier to explain. I suppose I feel like life is a bit too easy in general. I know, I know, lots of people have said to me "life's hard enough without adding extra obstacles to make yourself miserable" but if we're honest, for most of us, life in the western world is pretty easy. We're thirsty and we go the fridge for a coke. We're peckish so we open a packet of chocolate biscuits. I think that it's good to deprive yourself sometimes, to make things a bit harder. Maybe for me, lent is the do-able version of heading out for survival training in the woods with flint and a knife...
4. Humbling: The things I give up are the things that most of the world's population don't have the choice to give up. Most of them have never even seen the things I crave during lent. This time of year reminds me how lucky I am to have been born into the life I was, and makes me grateful to be so lucky, and mindful of those who aren't.
5. Tradition: Lent is something I grew up with, and I like to keep up the tradition. Not necessarily as a religious one, but an Irish one, and a family one. Keeping lent, even if I don't do it very well, makes me feel grounded and rooted to my past and my culture, especially if I'm on the other side of the world.
6. Easter: And finally, there aren't enough days of chocolaty celebration outside of Christmas and Easter. And I'm a bit big for the Easter Bunny. So giving up sugar for lent is the grown-up version of making Easter more magical - and sweeter. You have no idea how much I look forward to that egg!
Now I'm not saying I'm perfect. If I'm having a particularly bad day in a depressing third-world country, I give myself a little break. And in previous years, I have been known to keep up that other particularly Irish tradition; "St. Patrick's day doesn't count". But for the most part, I do ok. And using my imagination I've come up with some pretty good substitute snacks (the cheat sheet includes honey on toast, raspberry smoothies and juice frozen into home-made ice-pops).
So I'm counting down the 40 (actually 46) days. And the devil has tempted me many times - sadly, in this case, quoting scripture to a bar of Cadburies fruit and nut just doesn't do the trick.
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