Another reminder today that I still don't completely get everything about life here.
Pancakes. Pancakes? What? Why?
Or, maybe it says more about my not being of the Catholic persuasion that it really didn't hit me till hours into the day, and multiple confusing references to people's need to take in an unusually high amount of pancakes, what day it was on the liturgical calendar.
As a non-high church Protestant, albeit a relatively active one, I don't generally keep up with any but the major dates of the church year. But, given that it is Shrove Tuesday (Mardi Gras!), that means tomorrow is Ash Wednesday. The start of Lent. The build-up to Easter, the most important day of the Christian church calendar.
Which brings me back to wrestling with semi-obscure references to church traditions of long standing... this isn't the first time I will be giving something up for Lent. There was a very painful abstinence from romance novels a couple of years past that really brought to life the real meaning of "sacrifice".
In that tradition, this year I'll be giving up sugar (as added to tea, cereal, etc). I'm sure I'm not at all prepared for the pain.
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4 comments:
Why pancakes? 'Cos all that butter and eggs won't keep while you're not eating them for the next 40 days.
Mardi Gras (literally, Fat Tuesday) has the same meaning :)
Thanks John, that totally makes sense. Waste not, want not, and eat well while you're at it!
Do you normally survive the entire Lent without sneaking a bit of what you've given up?
LOL - my history isn't great. Like I said, I've only done the Lent thing once before, and I ended up rationalizing (i.e., cheating) by the end. It hasn't been as painful as I've thought so far. But, then, it's only been 2 days :-) What about you?
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