Since Lent begins tomorrow, I like the whole concept of partying the day before. Of course here in NY, there weren’t any Mardi Gras parades. Well there may have been but if there were, I didn’t hear of any. The only parade in town today was the Giants Victory parade. I don’t think any of the football players were tossing beads to the crowd, though. Footballs, maybe.
In other, less hectic years, I’ve always cooked some sort of Cajun dinner for the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday. About 20 years ago, Frank had gone on a business trip to New Orleans and brought me back a cookbook by that Prudhomme guy. There are some real good things in this cookbook but none of them will be made tonight for dinner. I will have to make up for that next year.
I’m not sure non-Catholic people know this but on Ash Wednesday, we’re supposed to fast. It’s nothing like Yom Kippur where you can’t eat anything at all from sundown to sundown (or, at least, that’s what I was told). We’re supposed to have a small meal for breakfast & lunch and then just 1 large meal at dinner. Oh, and no meat and no snacks in between meals.
Now here’s the weird thing – normally I don’t really eat in between meals. Well unless we’re in that PMS phase, in which case I’ll eat anything that isn’t nailed down. But normally, I just don’t. However, on Ash Wednesday, I am always ravenous. It’s like the idea of not being able to eat is making me want to eat.
Then there are the TV commercials. Of course every single commercial tomorrow ill be about food. Personally I think all food commercials should be banned from TV on that day.
Yeah, that’s it. A ban. I think I’ll start this huge Internet petition to ban food commercials on Ash Wednesday. Just as soon as I find some chocolate…
How in the HECK did Lent sneak up on me? Isn’t it still Christmas? I need to go to mass WAY more often. I wanted a big meat-ful dinner tonight but everyone at my house is sick.
Damn, that ‘everyone being sick’ line reminded me that I meant to call my son to find out how he’s feeling because he’s been pretty sick. Well I did try calling this afternoon but he wasn’t in his room and then I forgot to try again. I am a bad mother.
I can easily go a full day without meat…unless that day is Ash Wednesday or any Friday during Lent. I crave meat those days. And like you said, on a fasting day, I’m starving! Gosh, I wish somebody would tell me I could have all the horrible food I want, but absolutely no fruit and vegetables. Wonder if that would help my diet?
That Ash Wednesday feeling is the same one I get anytime I decide to diet. I can go all day and not snack between meals but someone tell me I can’t and I am hanging on the cabinet doors trying to see what is hidden in the top cabinets.