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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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SilentMark1138 t1_j6led9v wrote

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

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somethingkooky t1_j6lh03e wrote

Replying to militaryCoo (#1,643,638)

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.

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somethingkooky t1_j6lhohz wrote

Replying to Whynotme23 (#1,644,114)

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.

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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.

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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

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Mancidepress t1_j6ln97f wrote

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

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makkdom t1_j6lnlun wrote

Replying to Phantom_Ganon (#1,646,024)

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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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mmgoodly t1_j6luoc4 wrote

Replying to somethingkooky (#1,644,199)

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.

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drunk_haile_selassie t1_j6lvq0d wrote

Replying to Nitemiche (#1,642,387)

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.

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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.)

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NetworkLlama t1_j6lxfia wrote

Replying to drunk_haile_selassie (#1,648,666)

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.

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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.

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gwaydms t1_j6lykxe wrote

Replying to drunk_haile_selassie (#1,648,666)

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.

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Flair_Helper t1_j6m1dsf wrote

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[deleted] t1_j6m1s7o wrote

Replying to welackscience (#1,649,924)

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.

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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.

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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”

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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???

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My3floofs t1_j6omcma wrote

Replying to waltzinair (#1,642,634)

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.

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