When Carter Davis, a sophomore in fashion and textile management, takes the first bite of her chocolate bunny from her basket on Easter morning, her Lenten sacrifice of sweets will be all the more sweet. Lent is a time when people such as Davis are recommitting themselves to their faith.
It has long been a tradition of the Christian faith, beginning with Catholicism, to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ and the sacrifices he made for them. It began as a 40 hour fast practiced by Catholics and slowly evolved into a 40 day period of celebration and reflection for many Christians regardless of denomination. Although some people give up things for reasons other than religious devotion, most have a symbolic reason for the things they choose to sacrifice during this period.
One of the most common luxuries or vices people forgo during Lent is some type of food. Perhaps a common day interpretation of the original 40 day Lenten fast, or perhaps more likely an impetus for people to abstain from unhealthy eating habits. Davis cites the latter as her reason for giving up sweets.
“As bad as this is to say, it’s a good way to cut out bad eating and especially since it’s for God I won’t cheat. Of course I absolutely love sweets so it was definitely something that was difficult,” Davis said.
Kristin Kronk, a sophomore in graphic design, said she has successfully avoided fried foods and dessert since Lent began on Feb. 17th as it promotes healthy food choices and challenges her tenacity.
“It’s good to give up something and I wanted to do something that would improve my life,” Kronk said. “It would be healthier to give up fried food and dessert, and also just to see if I could do it.”
It is one thing to decide what is significant enough to give up, but it is another to actually follow through and abstain for 40 days. Davis and Kronk both initially struggled without their favorite foods but found it really not that difficult, viewing it almost as a challenge and something that they could look forward to on Easter Sunday.
“It’s not very hard, the first couple of weeks were slightly difficult but then you kind of forget about it and get excited to be able to eat it again,” Davis said. “It shows my perseverance and I feel very fulfilled every Easter after the 40 days because I did something for my religion.”
“It’s not hard actually except when you’re going to eat fast food or something, it really limits what you can eat because everything is fried. Desserts are just tempting if it’s there, but otherwise it hasn’t been that hard,” Kronk said.
Margaret Cunningham, a sophomore in media communications, gave up watching television to challenge herself and to see what it felt like to give up an integral, but frivolous, part of her daily routine.
“It’s a modern day luxury and I kind of just wanted to see if I could do it,” Cunningham said.
Although it has evolved into a more personal and symbolic act, giving up something of value during Lent is a way for Christians to remind themselves of the true meaning of Easter. For some it is additionally a way to experience a fraction of the sacrifice made for them by Jesus and to test their willpower. Even though it may just be bonbons or “The Bachelor,” students’ observance of Lent is evidence that the tradition is one still honored in modern society.