What Are You Giving Up For Lent?
I've just eaten my last bar of chocolate for 40 days. Many of us give up something pleasurable during Lent and I give up chocolate every year. But one year, I had nearly made it to the 40day mark when my nephew decided to buy us all an ice-cream. He bought us all a 99 (the ones topped with the flake) And yup..you've guessed it. I ate the flake. I was horrified and so annoyed with my self.
But I think The Big Man Upstairs forgave me. After all, He saw I'd done my best.
Under the cut is an article I found on the history of Lent. It's very interesting;
The practice of Lent likely has its origins in practical reasons. In agricultural societies (as most Christian cultures were, in the fourth and fifth centuries, when Lent is first mentioned in historical context), winter crops were often scarce. Correspondingly, a period of fasting may have been a spiritual response to a physical need. The excesses and revels of Shrove Tuesday (also known as Mardi Gras), the day before Ash Wednesday, were, in all likelihood, a response to the same phenomenon, as people wanted to consume perishable goods (like meats, eggs, dairy products, and sweets) before they spoiled.
As the practice of Lent evolved, it began to take on the added significance of a preparation of new church members for the baptism of Easter Sunday. In the spirit of Christianity as a community of living faith, this period of fasting and preparation was eventually embraced by all Church members. Additionally, Lent was once referred to as quadragesima, which is Latin for the fortieth day before Easter. The word "Lent" itself is thought to come from a Germanic root, lenct, which initially meant "spring" and, later, "fast."
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