Ah, Fat Tuesday. The last day before Lent where you get to eat as much as you want, party as much as you want, whatever. I am celebrating by having pancakes for dinner. It’s probably been about twenty years since I last had pancakes for dinner, so I’m unnecessarily excited by this.
Lent is sort of an interesting time of year because it absolutely does not work towards an actual personal improvement, and because it encourages ever more creative ways to get around whatever your Lenten goals happen to be.
Lent, for those of you who do not know, is a period stretching from Mardi Gras to Easter, during which you are either supposed to give up something you like or take on a new habit to improve yourself or both, depending on your specific denomination’s beliefs. There is also something about not eating meat on Fridays. It’s so you can symbolically join Jesus for his forty days in the desert during which he was tempted by the devil.
Jesus is a better person than most of the rest of us.
(Just FYI, if you’re confused about why Easter is a different day every year, know that it is the first Sunday after the first full moon after the Spring Equinox. Say that five times fast. Though in this case, sometimes this is an imaginary full moon made up centuries ago by the Church. It’s very confusing.)
Most people seem to go by the “give something up” model of observance. This can range from the irreverent (Friend: “I’m giving up abstinence for Lent.” Me: “How’s that going?” Friend: *sigh*) and easy to follow (such as someone giving up food that they’re allergic to) to the extremely difficult (giving up coffee for a caffeine addict).
A lot of people will give up something that will help them diet. This usually backfires in one of two ways (or both): 1) Let’s say someone gives up chocolate. Since they can’t have chocolate, they eat cookies instead, or 2) They successfully don’t eat chocolate all of Lent, and then on Easter they consume 15 Cadbury Eggs and pass out in a sugar-induced coma.
This is where people start to get truly creative. They give up chocolate, but eat other candy. The next year they give up all candy, but eat ice cream instead. The next they give up desserts, but have a mocha every day.
Or someone gives up TV, and watches their favorite shows on the internet instead.
Since Lent is supposed to represent Jesus’s forty days in the desert, but is usually longer than that, some people consider Sundays to not count as Lent, and so it’s all right to indulge on those days.
Most people go into Lent fully determined to stick with their plan. Some actually do, and some even manage it without binging at the end. But if nothing else, Lent proves to us how strong temptation can be, and how easily it can shake even the firmest determination.
“Celebrating” Lent this year? What are you giving up? (I may have to give up maple syrup, if only to please my husband.)