<p>A friend in the catering business, who specialises in a variety of non-vegetarian dishes, has a separate menu for those who do not eat meat during Lent. </p>.<p>This sacred season of the Christian calendar is traditionally marked by austerity and abstinence, with favourite foods and pleasurable pastimes voluntarily kept in abeyance. My late father used to give up chocolate and ice cream, which he greatly relished. Every year, he would urge my brother and me to forgo films, but we invariably succumbed to temptation. </p>.<p>In 1977, we requested permission to watch a horror movie, on the evening after Good Friday. “It’s about Satan,” we said, hoping that this biblical being would lend a spiritual slant to profane pre-Easter entertainment. Our father was furious. “Devil, devilish” he sputtered, but we got our way and enjoyed The Omen.</p>.Remembering the soul of fasting.<p>Actually, while Lent seems synonymous with spartan self-denial, it has cheerful connotations. The word ‘lent’ stems from the old-English ‘lencten’ (of West Germanic origin) meaning spring, and refers to the lengthening of days. In cold countries, the change in the weather is, quite literally, warmly welcomed. Shedding her shroud, and basking in sunshine and showers, Mother Earth is arrayed in vibrant colours. We celebrate this rhythmic resurgence of nature at Holi, Ugadi, Nowruz and several other festivals including Easter: the exultant culmination of six weeks of sombre observances. </p>.<p>Sombre, since Lent is not just about buds and blossoms. It commemorates the 40-day fast of Jesus Christ in the wilderness, and is the countdown to the suffering and death of the Lord. It is in reverent remembrance of these poignant events that people offer their own small symbolic sacrifices during this period <br>of penitence. </p>.<p>“Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me,” pleads David, in the 51st psalm of the Bible. Although this entreaty was made long before the dawn of Christianity, it is the perfect petition for Lent: a sincere acknowledgement of wrongdoing, followed by an impassioned appeal for grace and mercy.</p>.<p>“Restore to me the joy of your salvation,” is David’s humble supplication, preceded by deep contrition. That is the prayer of everyone who views Lent as a time for reflection, repentance and renewal.</p>
<p>A friend in the catering business, who specialises in a variety of non-vegetarian dishes, has a separate menu for those who do not eat meat during Lent. </p>.<p>This sacred season of the Christian calendar is traditionally marked by austerity and abstinence, with favourite foods and pleasurable pastimes voluntarily kept in abeyance. My late father used to give up chocolate and ice cream, which he greatly relished. Every year, he would urge my brother and me to forgo films, but we invariably succumbed to temptation. </p>.<p>In 1977, we requested permission to watch a horror movie, on the evening after Good Friday. “It’s about Satan,” we said, hoping that this biblical being would lend a spiritual slant to profane pre-Easter entertainment. Our father was furious. “Devil, devilish” he sputtered, but we got our way and enjoyed The Omen.</p>.Remembering the soul of fasting.<p>Actually, while Lent seems synonymous with spartan self-denial, it has cheerful connotations. The word ‘lent’ stems from the old-English ‘lencten’ (of West Germanic origin) meaning spring, and refers to the lengthening of days. In cold countries, the change in the weather is, quite literally, warmly welcomed. Shedding her shroud, and basking in sunshine and showers, Mother Earth is arrayed in vibrant colours. We celebrate this rhythmic resurgence of nature at Holi, Ugadi, Nowruz and several other festivals including Easter: the exultant culmination of six weeks of sombre observances. </p>.<p>Sombre, since Lent is not just about buds and blossoms. It commemorates the 40-day fast of Jesus Christ in the wilderness, and is the countdown to the suffering and death of the Lord. It is in reverent remembrance of these poignant events that people offer their own small symbolic sacrifices during this period <br>of penitence. </p>.<p>“Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me,” pleads David, in the 51st psalm of the Bible. Although this entreaty was made long before the dawn of Christianity, it is the perfect petition for Lent: a sincere acknowledgement of wrongdoing, followed by an impassioned appeal for grace and mercy.</p>.<p>“Restore to me the joy of your salvation,” is David’s humble supplication, preceded by deep contrition. That is the prayer of everyone who views Lent as a time for reflection, repentance and renewal.</p>
