"Jesus won't let you eat chocolate?!"

I have heard students responding to this question posed by distraught acquaintances. "Ughhhh! No, that's not what Lent is about..." is usually the default reaction. Beginning on Ash Wednesday is the Lenten season, celebrated by some Christian denominations. This religious observance is a time of consecration for the observer through prayer, fasting, etc. Catholicism is among the Christian denominations that revere these customs.


Soooo this is Louisiana right? Everybody knows about Mardi Gras! Oh! and the crawfish boils and fish fries that we have every Friday after that. These are cultural staples in the time leading up to Spring and Easter. Close to everyone does these things so it would only be natural to assume that everyone else that lives here would at least understand why we do them, even if we don't. In a region where cultural activities, like Mardi Gras, have been shaped by religion, assumptions are a-flying! It isn't a crazy to expect everyone who lives in Louisiana, where the Catholic denomination within Christianity is a predominant religious sect, to understand, if not observe, their practices.

A lot of people, religious and non-religious, know of Lent and what is supposed to be done to some extent. The understanding that Lent is "when you give up stuff" is common and understandably frustrating to those who find significance in the self-denial. We've got high expectations of one another's religious literacy, but we should always be prepared to answer the obscure questions.