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EAT RIGHT

Letter from Maggie

This year Lent begins in February. Many "Carnival" celebrations will take place on Shrove Tuesday, the day before Ash Wednesday. Mardi Gras in New Orleans is a well recognized variation of the ancient custom of carnival which takes its name from the Latin, meaning "putting away the meat" for Lent. So feasting before fasting is not a recent invention. In Medieval times, Christians avoided meat for the whole Lenten period. Variations have since focused on avoiding meat on Wednesdays and Fridays during Lent. Some form of fasting or avoiding rich or favorite foods has been adopted by many religions.

As we approach the start of Lent this week, you may want to consider a sacrifice that involves a favorite food or a trigger food. The spiritual motivation of the season may help you to change your relationship with a particular food that has been problematic for you. You could adopt the medieval custom of eating vegetarian for the entire 40 days of Lent or you could simply reduce your usual portion of meat or fish. You may want to take the additional step of giving a gift of food to you local food pantry or bringing a portion of your family meal to an elderly or needy neighbor, rather than indulging in seconds.

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