[chrysostom]

so...who gave what up?

and have you stuck with it?

i've given up meat [red meat and chicken]...not sure if i'm going the whole way with giving up seafood yet or not, i have so far.

i want a bacon sandwich.

[bmstinton93]

I never give anything up.

[Ilovematt]

WHAT !! I thought 1st of January was for this marlarky ?

[bmstinton93]

No. That's just new years resolutions. Lent is the 40 days and 40 nights that run from ash Wednesday to Easter Sunday where Jesus rose again

[MK Chris]

I'm not religious, so I don't give anything up for lent.

[Nicola_Red]

Bread. My flatmate has given up bread and alcohol, but I'm a bit reticent on the alcohol front, even tho I hardly ever drink anyway!

[Boboff]

I don't get this.
Easter is the 24th April.
Ash Wednesday was 9th March, so thats 22 days left of March plus 24 days on April, which is 46 days.
By my reckoning Pancake day should be 15th March, not last week? Why was it early then?

[bmstinton93]

http://hubpages.com/hub/Lent-2011

www.when-is.com/lent-2011.asp

[Boboff]

Yeah I know but it actually says on the second page lent will last for 46 days, not 40days which is what the first Web site say lent is, and lent is normall 40 days not 47.

What I ask is why, has someone got it wrong?

[Latina]

I think the 40 days of Lent don't include the Sundays (hence why some people use Sunday as a rest day where they are allowed to have whatever it is they gave up), but I could be wrong. I'm a hopeless Cradle Catholic. Although I did remember to go to Ash Wednesday mass last week.

Actually I haven't given anything up this year - I was just majorly stumped for ideas and too busy to properly give it any thought. Normally I just give up the booze (and I don't ever tend to break it on Sundays as I think that's a counter-productive "rule"), but this Friday I'm heading off on week-long holiday in the Borders with some mates, and we're living in a farm cottage with no electricity for a week. Which will be fun considering all the activities we have planned, but admittedly it'll be impossible for me to survive it without alcohol.

I'll think of something (and probably give it up "in lieu" for several days after Easter), but in the meantime I may focus more on the other two aspects of Lent, which is charity and... um... what's the other one again? Prayer?...

[Munki Bhoy]

Isn't there something about lent finishing the weekend BEFORE Easter? Something about Jesus coming out of the desert by then. He certainly wasn't on lent for the last supper.

[Nicola_Red]

Latina is correct, it excludes Sundays.

The last week of Lent begins with Palm Sunday, which celebrates the day Jesus entered Jerusalem and the people lay down palms at his feet. The last day of Lent is Holy Saturday, the day before Easter Sunday. In the Roman Catholic Church, Lent officially ends at sundown on Holy Thursday (Maundy Thursday), with the beginning of the mass of the Lord's Supper.

[Boboff]

Right thats cleared that up, I did not know that, and it seams to be an important and interesting fact, which has passed me by.

Why I challenged it is that Easter Sunday is my daughter's birthday, and on pancake day I said it was 40 days to her birthday, and son, whose is the week before, was 33 days. It was only when he asked me this morning and I said 34 days to go, he looked at his birthday advent calender and with a sad face said well I only started it on 33 days and that was last week!!!!!! Felt quite sorry for him, still he is 22! (joke he will be 9)

[bmstinton93]

So you can do whatever you've given up on the Sunday?

[chrysostom]

So you can do whatever you've given up on the Sunday?

technically. i think that's a throwback to the days where they gave up basically everything, so it was more necessary then.

he looked at his birthday advent calender

woah woah woah. i'm 22, and didn't know that this was a thing. i'm fuming, i want a birthday advent calendar.

[Boboff]

He drew it himself! If you go to Pizza hut they give away a colouring set with crayons, go for lunch and grab yourself a pack and make one.

Enjoy

[Yudster]

I don't give anything up for Lent. If you want to mark Lent out I think its better to do something, or take something up which will help someone, rather than to stop doing something or give something up which won't really help anyone.

[chrysostom]

i quite like asserting my independence from whatever it is i'm giving up (has been meat for the last few years) - just shows myself that i can give up something if i choose to. having said this, i'm not sure i could do alcohol...eep.

[Latina]

Yeah, I've noticed a lot of people - religious or not - use it as an opportunity to practice the old will power, or improve their health, which is what I do as well.

I once read somewhere (I think it was a Catholic message board when I was googling stuff about Lent) that it's "bad" to give something up for positive reasons because you're ultimately benefitting yourself rather than denying yourself, and that annoyed me so I filed it under "Jesus wouldn't agree with those silly people" and carried on.

When I give up alcohol I tend to get massively obsessed with herbal tea. The first time I did it, I tried merely restricting my alcohol intake to one drink on each occasion, but soon realised it was far easier just to go cold turkey, so that's what I've done every year since. The only times I really suffered was when there was a special occasion (such as an exhibtion opening, or a birthday), and I'd curse it for happening during Lent. Whereas just an ordinary evening down the pub was usually fine.

In his autobiography, Michael Caine says that since the 70s he's only allowed himself to drink wine at meal times, and that's it. Sounds like a good idea for Lent as well.

[Nicola_Red]

I sort of see it as an opportunity to empathise with Jesus in the desert by denying yourself something you like, and thus Easter becomes more meaningful. Or that's the theory anyway. But my flatmate isn't religious, I think he does it more for health/willpower type reasons.

[Latina]

Yeah, that is what it's really about.

And you're right about Easter. I've always found Easter more joyful at times when I've suffered a bit during Lent.

I don't see the harm in benefitting from it at the same time though - actually I don't see how it would be possible to choose something where you wouldn't.

[Ilovematt]

No. That's just new years resolutions. Lent is the 40 days and 40 nights that run from ash Wednesday to Easter Sunday where Jesus rose again

No sh*t Sherlock

[Nicola_Red]

No. That's just new years resolutions. Lent is the 40 days and 40 nights that run from ash Wednesday to Easter Sunday where Jesus rose again

No sh*t Sherlock

We've already established that in fact the period between Ash Wed and Easter Sun is not in fact 40 days and 40 nights, no need to be sarky.

[bmstinton93]

No. That's just new years resolutions. Lent is the 40 days and 40 nights that run from ash Wednesday to Easter Sunday where Jesus rose again

No sh*t Sherlock

Well it wasn't so blindingly obvious to the person who asked 'isn't this done after Christmas?' i really can't be bothered to quote it or check who it was that said it though now

[Boboff]

I am a vegetarian, apart from Meat Fish and Poultry.


Dom !