Comments

You must log in or register to comment.

Nitemiche t1_j6lc2eo wrote

It's not restricted to red meat. On Ash Wednesday, Good Friday and all Fridays during Lent, adult Catholics over the age of 14 abstain from eating meat. During these days, it is not acceptable to eat lamb, chicken, beef, pork, ham, deer and most other meats. However, eggs, milk, fish, grains, and fruits and vegetables are all allowed.

131

MisterProfGuy t1_j6lfmvp wrote

And of course beavers are also fish.

102

triggerhappymidget t1_j6lib2w wrote

And capybara

41

BowwwwBallll t1_j6lmaxu wrote

And alligators.

26

OwlrageousJones t1_j6lmt86 wrote

And puffins.

19

krisalyssa t1_j6lqmuy wrote

And the fruit bats… and the breakfast cereals….

14

5050Clown t1_j6lspna wrote

Human flesh and blood are on the menu though. Provided it is the flesh and blood of the greatest human who ever lived.

7

Lagduf t1_j6ltwgz wrote

Yep but only Doomsday could spill Superman’s blood so I assume it’s pretty rare to get a glass of Clark’s Delight.

4

karmicrelease t1_j6lp3dr wrote

What about platypus?

3

Bretty_boy t1_j6lskd6 wrote

How could god have not made a rule about monotremes! Sounds like he really half assed these lent rules

4

karmicrelease t1_j6m36x6 wrote

It’s almost like he didn’t know they existed because they authors of the various books of the Bible didn’t. But I’m sure it just slipped his mind /s

1

wufnu t1_j6lojkz wrote

What about ducks?!

Also, glad to see other historical food channel addicts are represented here. I don't even like to fucking cook...

3

mcpatsky t1_j6nwkrd wrote

Just eat beaver all day long. My wife told me it was OK

1

militaryCoo t1_j6lfzvf wrote

Eggs aren't allowed. Hence pancakes on Pancake Tuesday, the day before Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent

13

Phantom_Ganon t1_j6lmry7 wrote

>Eggs aren't allowed

Catholics are allowed to eat eggs during Lent. I can't find anything on Google saying otherwise.

Edit: TIL. I had never even heard of Shrove Tuesday.

14

86tuning t1_j6luoxu wrote

sometimes called fat tuesday or mardi gras.

5

militaryCoo t1_j6lmy5x wrote

https://www.historyextra.com/period/medieval/history-shrove-tuesday-pancake-day-tradition-why-we-eat-pancakes-lent-fasting/

4

Phantom_Ganon t1_j6ln646 wrote

Wow. I've never even heard of Shrove Tuesday. I wonder when they changed the rules that allow us to eat eggs during Lent.

5

makkdom t1_j6lnlun wrote

It is not the eggs that are the issue. Pancakes would have been cooked and eaten on Tuesday to use up the animal fat that greased the griddle. The fat had to be gone by Ash Wednesday or it would spoil during lent.

14

drunk_haile_selassie t1_j6lvxh4 wrote

The rules for Catholics have lapsed quite a lot over time. They used to not be allowed to eat meat on any Friday. Now its just Good Friday.

3

NetworkLlama t1_j6lxfia wrote

This is where McDonald's Filet-O-Fish came from. McDonald's fanchisee Lou Coen came up with the idea. McDonald's founder Ray Kroc wasn't convinced and devised a Hula Burger (grilled pineapple with cheese) as an alternative and challenged Coen to a competition. The highest-selling product would win.

The Filet-O-Fish won handily, selling 350 to...some very small number that Ray Kroc wouldn't admit. It was reportedly the first ever addition to the McDonald's menu. It was a huge hit among Catholics after that.

6

gwaydms t1_j6lykxe wrote

Our local Catholic churches have Friday fish fries during Lent. Fish and chips/fries, hushpuppies, maybe cole slaw or potato salad. You don't have to be Catholic to pick up a plate. As Episcopalians we observe Lent also, and some of those churches have great fried fish.

2

C4-BlueCat t1_j6m072u wrote

Ooh, is that why Thursday is a traditonal pancake day :o

1

somethingkooky t1_j6lh03e wrote

Pancakes have eggs in them, or egg products (in the case of “just add water” mixes). Edit: apologies, I misread the post - I thought it was saying that Pancake Tuesday (the day before Ash Wednesday) was the first day of Lent.

3

Whynotme23 t1_j6lherm wrote

Which is probably why he said the day before the first day of lent they have pancakes……..

7

somethingkooky t1_j6lhohz wrote

I clearly know little to nothing about religion - I thought they were saying that pancakes were ok because they didn’t have eggs! (I read it as Tuesday being the first day of Lent.) Thanks for the info, TIL.

5

mmgoodly t1_j6luoc4 wrote

They throw pancake breakfast events for fundraisers sometimes and I suspect this is the original time/explanation/excuse for those. See Frank Zappa's whimsically manic song "St. Alfonso's Pancake Breakfast" for a deconstruction of that kind of deal.

1

Nitemiche t1_j6lokb0 wrote

Lenten abstinence from meat byproducts is no longer required for Latin-rite Catholics, although it is still mandatory in Eastern churches that are in union with Rome.

1

drunk_haile_selassie t1_j6lvq0d wrote

My dad was raised catholic but never practiced as an adult. We ate fish for dinner every Friday. And I still do to this day. None of us are religious but it's just tradition I guess.

I do remember being spanked by my Nan for eating beef on good Friday though.

5

RichardStinks t1_j6lcvfa wrote

"It's okay to eat fish because they don't have any feelings." Cobain 2:12

I can't say it's the most logical thing, but I do know that poultry is a no-no for Lent. The overall idea is sacrifice, fasting, and continued thoughts and prayers for Baby Jesus.

42

crappinhammers t1_j6lgj2f wrote

Ah yes, the best eli5 answer. Right here in the story it says 'fish ok'.

10

syds t1_j6llopy wrote

its canon my friend, the OG

3

My3floofs t1_j6lah1c wrote

Because the fish mongers were having a hard time selling their fish, so they went to the pope and he decreed that people should eat fish on fridays. Nothing religious about it, just a good old business transaction. This carried over to people eating fish all the time.

36

waltzinair t1_j6lcyg2 wrote

I'm actually curious: Do you have a source of this historical fact?

I'm not Catholic by the way so I also know nothing about the story from within Catholic.

12

My3floofs t1_j6omcma wrote

Not catholic either but it’s some papal decree. Some say it’s not fish per se but anything cold blooded. The ban was on carne ie warm blooded meat. So fish, veggies, fruit were fine. It’s just another weird religious idea.

1

GhostMug t1_j6lsjjx wrote

Growing up Catholic I learned this is the correct answer that they never actually told us about.

1

[deleted] t1_j6latwy wrote

[deleted]

−3

morderkaine t1_j6lqjej wrote

Like how Jewish people have the most restricting laws but so many ways around them

1

Anerky t1_j6lxjz4 wrote

Both Jews and the Amish have many workarounds in terms of the things that are acceptable and unacceptable, it’s almost funny sometimes.

2

SilentMark1138 t1_j6led9v wrote

Like most religious practices, there are loopholes to allow rule breaking when someone with sufficient influence wants there to be.

11

Llanite t1_j6lohub wrote

The entire point of lent is personal sacrifice. In pre-modern times, meat is a luxury one eats to celebrate. People are also asked to eat only once a day.

Fish, vegetable and wheat are common food people eat daily.

10

ruidh t1_j6ll9l4 wrote

I give up all meat, not just red meat. Chicken, pork and veal are all out. I end up having a lot of vegetarian days. I could have fish, but I don't like it that much.

8

big_purple_barney t1_j6luvsy wrote

same here. never really got to try fish, so i never got into it, leaving me few options on lent

1

welackscience t1_j6m0hgn wrote

Why not try it now??

1

[deleted] t1_j6m1s7o wrote

I think they’re justifying not ‘developing a taste’ for it. I never had fish growing up, and I tried probably a hundred different preparations and types before, thankfully, I finally found one that I’m allergic to, so now I don’t have to justify not liking fish to people who are serious fish-eating advocates.

3

[deleted] t1_j6ldbej wrote

[deleted]

6

Mrknowitall666 t1_j6ll7be wrote

Well, in early Christianity, the prohibition was on land animals. Ie, fish isn't meat, but seafood

4

Agent8426 t1_j6lotzj wrote

I think you’re conflating two different practices: 1) giving something up for Lent, and 2) Eating fish on Fridays during Lent. Catholics give something up during Lent so simulate Jesus’ 40 days of fasting. It can be anything, so if one chooses to give up red meat they could eat poultry, fish, and/or veggie during Lent….but for Fridays where they must abstain from meat per church rules, but fish isn’t considered meat.

4

mmgoodly t1_j6lv3ym wrote

^ this. Fish Fridays used to be year-'round when I was a small fry (ha ha i make the joke you laugh now)

2

Kahless01 t1_j6ln42m wrote

the fish thing all started because some pope centuries ago was from a poor fishing village and he wanted to help them out

1

Mancidepress t1_j6ln97f wrote

What is lent? This is the first time I've heard of it.

1

tacetabbad0n t1_j6lo9ae wrote

It's ash Wednesday and Fridays that require fasting and white or red meat doesn't have anything to do with it.

It was ment to show piety in giving up more luxurious foods. Fish, grains, milk, eggs, vegetables, fruit all ok, as these were staples that the poor generally lived on.

But because the Catholic church was a bit hypocritical and didn't want to upset the rich too much they decreed that bevers were fish because they swam so were ok to eat when fasting.

1

gwaydms t1_j6lzcx0 wrote

In the Episcopal Church USA, the saying about Lenten discipline is "all may; some should; and none must." It's a personal thing between the communicant and God.

2

Farnsworthson t1_j6lxaio wrote

There's an old saying that something is "neither fish, fowl nor good red meat" (not really one thing or another). My understanding is that, at one time, fish wasn't considered "meat", basically. So the imprecation not to eat meat didn't extend to fish.

(For what it's worth, in my usage of the words as I grew up with them at least, the two words still mean different things in common parlance.)

1

themaelstorm t1_j6lxtxn wrote

Not sure how much it factors into this but I see poultry getting a bad rep as people hear bad stories of mass-grown animals, antibiotics and what not.

1

Flair_Helper t1_j6m1dsf wrote

Please read this entire message

Your submission has been removed for the following reason(s):

Discussion of religious or political beliefs are not allowed on ELI5. These usually end up being discussions rather than requests for simplifying complex concepts. They also tend to have a large subjective bent.

If you would like this removal reviewed, please read the detailed rules first. If you believe this submission was removed erroneously, please use this form and we will review your submission.

1

Jrsall92 t1_j6m1so1 wrote

For orthodoxs, they abstain from any kind of meat (if it walks on the surface) and any and all processed foods. Olives are OK but olive oil not. Milk is OK but cheese and butter not. I think cereals and grains are OK, but I'm not sure, I was too busy eating meat during lent to actually listen to what was allowed or not.

1

Getdeded t1_j6m1tb7 wrote

Because back in the day they didn’t consider fish meat, so they’re getting by on a loophole. Much like the string that encircles Manhattan so Jewish people never have to leave the “home”

1

is_this_a_god_dam t1_j6n5w7t wrote

I mean no disrespect but Does anyone else feel the Auto moderation on this subreddit needs to be a little less strict? I feel this is a valid question and can't understand why it needs to be removed???

1

Dog_N_Pop t1_j6lcqn3 wrote

Historically fish were actually considered closer to birds than land animals, and so their meat wasn't prohibited in the same way red meat was and is today on Fridays.

0