X-treme Lent Ideas

[GeoBQn]

Kendra at Catholic All Year put up a post about unusual ideas for things to do during Lent. She explains that in her family, they've altered the "give up something for 40 days" rule into more of a time for general self improvement. She gives different categories of things to try during Lent with beginner, intermediate, and advance levels. Most of her ideas are pretty benign, but these made me scratch my head.

catholicallyear.com/2014/02/outside-box-66-things-to-give-up-or.html

1. Don't eat out at restaurants

2. Make all your food from scratch

3. Grow/raise all your own food

In 40 days? There are extreme homesteaders who took years to get to the point of growing and raising all their food.

1. Eat more simply

2. Eat up the food that's in the back of the pantry and freezer

3. Eat only soup

An all-soup diet can't be healthy.

1. Turn the lights off in empty rooms

2. Have lights turned on in only one room at a time

3. Don't use electricity

Maybe giving up electricity is possible where she lives in sunny San Diego, but has she seen the weather reports for the rest of the country?

Then someone in the comments suggests "protesting at your local abortion mill."

[Cleopatra7]

When I was a Catholic, it was suggested that you give up eating out during Lent and give the money you would have spent on restaurants to charity. That's not a bad idea, but the giving up electricity thing is weird. If you want to make your household more energy-efficent, there are ways of doing that on a year-round basis that have nothing to do with sacrifice. I also don't see what eating freezer burnt food is supposed to do. If something is that covered with ice, it's not safe to eat (I know this from personal experience). I think the all-soup diet is supposed to be in the spirit of simplicity. Eating soup for forty days can work, but it depends on the type of soup you make, and some soups are so rich that you're not really sacrificing anything by eating them.

[PennySycamore]

How can you grow all your own food when it's not growing season during Lent?

[fun2beme]

The items about saving electricity seem more like common-sense, frugal living ideas - I don't see how that's sacrificing or doing something to make you a better person. The only item I'd agree with as being a sacrifice would be not going out to eat, and that really depends on how much they do it anyway. The rest just seem odd to me.

[Guest]

Yeah, I don't see how the electricity saving is really sacrifice... I would be more apt to give up a certain device (say, my iPad or TV) for a month, and use that time for more productive things and prayer/reflection. I find that giving things up for Lent is nice because you really do change your habits in 40 days. The best thing I've done is given up swearing. Of course, these people are too catholic to swear in the first place...

[MysteryHaggis]

Kendra at Catholic All Year put up a post about unusual ideas for things to do during Lent. She explains that in her family, they've altered the "give up something for 40 days" rule into more of a time for general self improvement. She gives different categories of things to try during Lent with beginner, intermediate, and advance levels. Most of her ideas are pretty benign, but these made me scratch my head.

catholicallyear.com/2014/02/outside-box-66-things-to-give-up-or.html

In 40 days? There are extreme homesteaders who took years to get to the point of growing and raising all their food.

An all-soup diet can't be healthy.

Maybe giving up electricity is possible where she lives in sunny San Diego, but has she seen the weather reports for the rest of the country?

Then someone in the comments suggests "protesting at your local abortion mill."

Are the suggestions deliberately in order of Xtremeness? Like,

" Eat more simply - OK, entry level holy

Eat through the store cupboard - yay! Frugal and holy!

Grow all your own food - super holy! Super holy! Super holy, yaaaooow!

Idem with the electricity and restaurant examples

[1004srs]

My son gave up Root Beer for Lent one year. My daughter is giving up candy. As a Family we are giving up eating out. At home our meals will be more simple.

No different than fasting for other religions. Read about fasting for Ramadan.

[Iokaste]

Ugh, Kendra, she is so self righteous. Honestly I didn't really see anything "outside the box" about her suggestions, except if your usual fast is a tiny little box called "don't eat meat".

I think my favorite was:

"1. Make the bed everyday

2. Make the bed everyday before you leave the bedroom

3. Put the throw pillows on and everything"

Isn't that just an everyday household routine "throw pillows and everything"?

When that is said, I think it can be good for anyone to take time out during the year to think about how and why we do the things we do. Religious or not, abstaining from habits or implementing new ones can really make a difference. As someone with christian background lent is a natural time for me to do this. One year I didn't drink coffee for 40 days (my coworkers made me swear never to do that again :lol: ), one year I didn't buy anything except food and I was really suprised how quickly I stopped noticing clothing-stores at all, so yee I'm in favour of fasting, it changes your perspective.

[julie paradox]

I think my favorite was:

"1. Make the bed everyday

2. Make the bed everyday before you leave the bedroom

3. Put the throw pillows on and everything"

Isn't that just an everyday household routine "throw pillows and everything"?

Obviously nobody has told Kendra that you're supposed to throw the covers back to let the bed air for a bit.

And, um, throw pillows? I've never understood the concept of extra cushions on a bed.

[church_of_dog]

When that is said, I think it can be good for anyone to take time out during the year to think about how and why we do the things we do. Religious or not, abstaining from habits or implementing new ones can really make a difference. As someone with christian background lent is a natural time for me to do this. One year I didn't drink coffee for 40 days (my coworkers made me swear never to do that again :lol: ), one year I didn't buy anything except food and I was really suprised how quickly I stopped noticing clothing-stores at all, so yee I'm in favour of fasting, it changes your perspective.

I agree. And I can kinda get into the way she's listed things here. As others have pointed out, you can't just suddenly "grow all your own food" and especially not in February in the northern hemisphere. But to me, those heavier-duty ideas were ones that might be appropriate for people who are focusing on those kinds of self-reliance reductions anyway, throughout the year, and each year being farther and farther along with their plans.

So, while no one is going to simply shut off their electricity for a month or magically have a garden in winter, if you've been working your way toward those ideals in your life anyway, perhaps moving towards home power (which is still electricity, after all, but I've noticed people seem to use the language loosely in that regard) or having a big garden in summer and then canning, preserving, etc for the winter, then it might be possible to achieve her "extreme" level ideas.

And as for the electricity, many people don't use electricity for their heat, so that isn't always a conflict even in winter.

And I suppose that sometimes an experience that is uncomfortable-but-in-the-service-of-a-larger-goal can be very useful, whether or not it can be considered a "sacrifice". I don't know if such an experience is appropriate for Lent, but I guess that's a matter of personal interpretation?

Anyway, as an atheist with some ideals of living pretty uber-simply/self-reliantly, but with still a long ways to go in that regard, I can see the appeal of her conceptual approach here, as well as appreciating some of the actual ideas.

[Iokaste]

Obviously nobody has told Kendra that you're supposed to throw the covers back to let the bed air for a bit.

And, um, throw pillows? I've never understood the concept of extra cushions on a bed.

I have two pillow on my bed that are not used for sleeping, they are bigger bulkier ones that are great for backsupport when reading in bed. Since my bed gets great late afternoon sunlight it's my favourite place to "lounge", but if not I'd never "adorn" my bed with anything, I'm not a fan of pillow-fluffing nor anything that is both useless and dust catching.

[littleblueheathen]

I shall continue with my usual Lenten practice of giving up hang gliding and chewing tobacco :mrgreen:

[Trynn]

If I was to try to make the bed before I left my room in the morning, I'd probably wet myself. Am I seriously the only one who immediately rushes to the bathroom upon wakening?

[bucherwurm]

I have never participated in Lent, and most likely won't in the near future.

Re: bed making. I don't make the bed. I try to throw the covers up in the morning, but I don't always succeed. We technically have four pillows on the bed, two normal and two with shams that match the comforter. We use all to sleep, and they are never actually used for decoration as they were intended. Oh well...

[church_of_dog]

I have two pillow on my bed that are not used for sleeping, they are bigger bulkier ones that are great for backsupport when reading in bed. Since my bed gets great late afternoon sunlight it's my favourite place to "lounge", but if not I'd never "adorn" my bed with anything, I'm not a fan of pillow-fluffing nor anything that is both useless and dust catching.

Same here. And since I'm the only one in my bed these days, I keep the big pillows on the non-sleep side of the bed -- I use them for reading when I first get into bed at night. When I had a partner, I kept the pillows near the bed but not on it, and brought them up for reading and put them back down/away for sleeping. Not as convenient, but, ya know, having room for the guy was somewhat of a priority… :lol:

[Beammeup]

If they give up electricity they aren't online = WIN for everyone!

[RachelB]

I have been contemplating taking "dry showers" during Lent-- that is, turning the water on only long enough to get my hair and washcloth wet and to rinse off. (I realize that this is normal showering in many places, but I'm accustomed to standing in the warm water.) Where I live, we're in a drought, and this is the single thing I could do to decrease my water use most significantly.

[mrs]

Growing up in the Catholic church I was told it is better to do something to help others then to "give up something". I generally think that is a good idea for lent or even a New Years resolution.

Slightly off topic, one habit I am trying to "break" is using paper towels. I obsessively recycle, compost, etc, but paper towels are so hard to part with for me.... ugh.

ETA: I also think doing something to help the "Earth" is a better idea.

[dianapavelovna]

Then someone in the comments suggests "protesting at your local abortion mill."

They also said "never go alone" (yeah, cos it's the clinic escorts who have a history of bombing clinics and shooting people) and used the term "abortion-bound." Charming.

I was born and bred Catholic and this year shall continue my tradition of giving up religion for Lent. :nenner:

[ADoyle90815]

I have been contemplating taking "dry showers" during Lent-- that is, turning the water on only long enough to get my hair and washcloth wet and to rinse off. (I realize that this is normal showering in many places, but I'm accustomed to standing in the warm water.) Where I live, we're in a drought, and this is the single thing I could do to decrease my water use most significantly.

That might be a good idea as I also live in the drought zone. I could do that and still go with my original plan to give up religion for Lent.

[itsnikki05]

Growing up in the Catholic church I was told it is better to do something to help others then to "give up something". I generally think that is a good idea for lent or even a New Years resolution.

Slightly off topic, one habit I am trying to "break" is using paper towels. I obsessively recycle, compost, etc, but paper towels are so hard to part with for me.... ugh.

ETA: I also think doing something to help the "Earth" is a better idea.

Going off topic with you... I use rags and microfiber cloths. I have tons of them and they work better for cleaning than paper towels did! I use the ratty ones for cleaning, knit cloths and scrubbies for dishes and face/body washing, and um... Clean dish rags for use at the table. I do sew and keep meaning to make some nicer cloth napkins (possibly hand embroidered because I like that kinda thing) but just haven't gotten around to it. I also want to make pretty "unpaper towels" (Google it), and other homemade household stuff... Just to be more frugal, but also have pretty stuff, but the old rags work just fine and at the end of the day I'm just doing it because I'm cheap and it doesn't cost any more to throw the rags in with the rest of the towels.

[ViolaSebastian]

Reminds me of an 'oldie, but a goodie':

What are you giving up for Lent?

Chastity.

[Jenny]

Reminds me of an 'oldie, but a goodie':

What are you giving up for Lent?

Chastity.

This made me laugh inappropriately at work.

I used to give up pop for lent. Another year I wanted to read the bible,so I doubled up during lent and finished the year long schedule early. My roommate gave up eating out last year. We told her she couldn't do that again. I don't like the smell of fish cooking at home, so if we are going to eat it twice a week, there is going to be some fast food/restaurants involved.

[Knight of Ni]

Many of my friends usually say that they are going to "give up" something for Lent such as sugary drinks or junk food. (One year someone who lived in my dorm loudly announced in the crowded common room that she would give up sex and then proudly announced that she probably wouldn't make it). Many of these people aren't Catholic.

Do other denominations besides Catholic practice Lent?

The best one I heard was from a friend who said she was giving up anger. She said she would attempt to be nicer to people even those that were unfriendly to here and she was hoping she could continue it once Lent was over. That was the one goal that seemed like a worthy thing to give up for Lent. Stuff like junk food just seemed like a second go around at a New Year's Resolution.

[Loveday]

Many of my friends usually say that they are going to "give up" something for Lent such as sugary drinks or junk food. (One year someone who lived in my dorm loudly announced in the crowded common room that she would give up sex and then proudly announced that she probably wouldn't make it). Many of these people aren't Catholic.

Do other denominations besides Catholic practice Lent?

The best one I heard was from a friend who said she was giving up anger. She said she would attempt to be nicer to people even those that were unfriendly to here and she was hoping she could continue it once Lent was over. That was the one goal that seemed like a worthy thing to give up for Lent. Stuff like junk food just seemed like a second go around at a New Year's Resolution.

Not sure, but I believe Lutherans and Episcopalians do (someone correct me if I'm wrong!), and my mother, a Methodist, participates in Lenten practices as well, so maybe some Methodist congregations, too? :think:

I'm a not-very-good-at-it Catholic. I start out 'giving up' something, but usually cave before Lent is even halfway over. I try to make up for it by donating extra to the food pantry or something. :embarrassed: