Lent

 Lent, purple on altar cloth and priest's scarf and some people give up chocolate

That's all I knew about Lent!  Not a lot really, because I don't come from traditional Christian stock.

Seems there is a whole lot more - it's a time to pray, to give, to fast.  Not sure about the fasting, so I did a bit of reading.  Some people limit what they eat, some go veggie for the 40 days.  Me, I have just been a heroic failure, because I have had a cold and currently am feeling blue and down, which is standard April/post cold fare for me.  Breakfast of chocolate orange hot cross buns probably isn't in the spirit is it?

There is a great passage in Isaiah the prophet on what the real point of fasting is - to do justice, to be generous, to treat your workers well.  That's a passage I like a lot! And Jesus just assumes we'll fast.

Very countercultural to me.

This morning, not sleeping I listened to Asian Network radio programmes called "Not even water" by young muslim men and women talking about their Ramadan practice.  How it's a chance to be kind, to be generous, to concentrate on their faith.  There seems to be this massive cultural, family based support network of food and fasting culture.  I guess that makes it easier.  Quite frankly, we seem to have massively lost out here!

I was very impressed.  Though they did make me laugh - seems that eating heavy food after sundown means you end up putting on weight.  I think what strikes me as a reasonable hack through this, is to learn to appreciate what you eat, to listen to what your body actually needs rather than as they say "feeding your anxiety" and to learn to eat seasonal healthy food.  Oh, and on Sundays, Christians celebrate the resurrection of Jesus, so any rules are off - and Easter is a 40 day festival with joy and white or gold on the altar decorations

It's a whole different world in a slightly more traditional expression of Christian faith.  I feel I am learning which when you have been as intellectually arrogant as me, is always fun!