Did you get ashes or eat meat on Ash Wednesday?

thatsthewaythe

did you do either?

prinz

Didn't get ashes, don't think I ate any meat but I couldn't be sure.

thatsthewaythe

prinz wrote: »

Didn't get ashes, don't think I ate any meat but I couldn't be sure.

was not eating meat out of religios obligation?

prinz

thatsthewaythe wrote: »

was not eating meat out of religios obligation?

No, it was more out of the I've cooked a vegetarian lasagna obligation I'm on a diet.

dreamerking

Is abstaining from meat on Ash Wednesday an exclusively Catholic practice? or do other Christian denominations abstain from meat too?

PDN

I had no meat on Ash Wednesday but, like prinz, not for religious reasons. I was trying out a new recipe for Catfish marinaded in garlic and lemon sauce, fried in butter, and then served with scalloped potatoes. Quite perfect when washed down with a few glasses of Sauvignon Blanc.

byhookorbycrook

Yes to ashes, no to meat.

about 3 fity

byhookorbycrook wrote: »

Yes to ashes, no to meat.

i was the opposite:o

Mr NoTV

when was ash Wednesday ?

prinz

dreamerking wrote: »

Is abstaining from meat on Ash Wednesday an exclusively Catholic practice? or do other Christian denominations abstain from meat too?

Others do, or at least did. I recently heard a history of the practice especially the eating of fish on Fridays. The version I heard was that the practice was rarely adhered to but reintroduced in Elizabethan times for less than spiritual reasons. The Elizabethans wanted the best navy on the seas, but because they couldn't afford to maintain a standing military navy of the size required most of the seaman spent the majority of their time doing other jobs here and there. To keep their seamanship up to scratch in case they'd ever be required to fend off a sea-borne invasion at short notice the Queenie and her nobles needed a way of making sure as many of them as possible were on the seas as often as possible and some bright spark came up with the plan of encouraging the eating of fish by the general population... as little as one day a week if almost every family ate fish the fishing fleet would have to swell and thousands of fishermen would be needed to keep supply up with demand. So they did, and eating fish became not just a form of religious devotion, but a way of contributing towards the military might of the state.

On a side not the same reasons explain why Ireland never really had a big fishing/seafood industry despite being surrounded by abundant seas. Seafood meant trawlers, trawlers meant fishermen, fishermen meant trained sailors, trained sailors meant the possibility of a navy, an Irish navy threatened British interests. So Irish trawlers were few and far between.

Not sure if it has any bearing on Ash Wednesday but it was a really interesting piece that I heard on RTE radio a while back.

Seaneh

PDN wrote: »

I had no meat on Ash Wednesday but, like prinz, not for religious reasons. I was trying out a new recipe for Catfish marinaded in garlic and lemon sauce, fried in butter, and then served with scalloped potatoes. Quite perfect when washed down with a few glasses of Sauvignon Blanc.

Where did you get Catfish in Ireland, or are you in Tn?

PDN

Seaneh wrote: »

Where did you get Catfish in Ireland, or are you in Tn?

Aldi!

lmaopml

Yeah, PDN's post just made me hungry and jealous, personally I think it was designed that way big show off'er..lol..Garlic and lemon marinade - feckin yum!

...I read it earlier while I was in work, just before I went off to lunch, and couldn't really post or say anything - lunch was beans on toast and Tea, not exactly the same.

Meh!

Benny_Cake

I think PDN that you need to stick that recipe up!

Isn't the whole notion of eating fish as a penance a little past it given that fish has become so fashionable and given the decline in certain fish stocks? I know I'm quite happy for any excuse to eat fish!

PDN

Benny_Cake wrote: »

I think PDN that you need to stick that recipe up!

If I do I'll put it here - http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/forumdisplay.php?f=610, I never knew boards.ie had a Cooking and Recipe Forum!

Isn't the whole notion of eating fish as a penance a little past it given that fish has become so fashionable and given the decline in certain fish stocks? I know I'm quite happy for any excuse to eat fish!

Yes, fish can be quite decadent and indulgent if we try. I guess that's what happens when traditions (religious or non-religious) have been around for a long time. They tend to lose sight of their original purpose.

Doc Farrell

Fish as penance was only a penance for the wealthy, for everyone else it was known as dinner. Today there is no point in fasting if you don't know why you are fasting, otherwise it is just dieting. For myself there is little use in getting ashes or even being aware that it is Lent if I am filled with road rage every time I get in the car. Rituals or symbols without understanding are quite similar to flying elephants, interesting to witness so long as they aren't directly above you.

Onesimus

O! Lenten time of fast and self-denial

that brings the pilgrim closer to his home

by teaching us that sin must be reviled

and yearly calls the sinner to atone.

But Lord, why must Thou take the meat?

Those other foods You gave us can’t compete.


O! To have a steak or Shepherd’s pie,

perhaps some chicken wings, a slice of ham?

It is a shame Your creatures have to die,

but what a tasty creature is the lamb!

But Lord, why must you take the meat?

‘Tis such a juicy, chewy, treat! ........