Lent starts tomorrow.
But I'm sure you're already aware of that fact. If the celebratorycries of "Happy Mardi Gras" haven't alerted you to the fact, I'm sure the endless status updates and tweets and blog posts of "oh no, what am I going to give up for Lent this year!" have made sure that you don't forget what these next forty days are about.
Because they are, of course, for you (not actually "you", but you get the picture) to groan and complain and applaud yourself for giving up *insert inconsequential food and/or activity here*.
I don't like this season.
Wait, let me rephrase that.I don't like what people have made this season to be.
Granted, like I've mentioned before, I'm not a particularly religious person, so my opinion on this matter might very well be meaningless.
I understand the purpose for giving something up. It's supposed to bring you closer to God, which is perfectly admirable in my eyes. But I don't need to hear about how much misery you're in because you gave up Diet Coke or desserts. Or Pringles. Seriously, I knew someone that gave up Pringles once.
According to Wikipedia, "There are traditionally forty days in Lent which are marked by fasting, both from foods and festivities, and by other acts of penance. The three traditional practices to be taken up with renewed vigour during Lent are prayer (justice towards God), fasting (justice towards self), and almsgiving (justice towards neighbour). Today, some people give up a vice of theirs, add something that will bring them closer to God, and often give the time or money spent doing that to charitable purposes or organizations."
What happened to the other two acts of penance that Wikipedia {not necessarily a reputable source, but a good summary nonetheless} suggests? To me, they sound just as important {honestly, probably moreso} than giving up chocolate. But you don't see any tweets about how much they've prayed today {well, I don't see them, anyway}.
I'm not going to tell you how you should celebrate Lent. If you want to use these forty days to give something up to bring yourself closer to God, then good for you. But boasting about it all over Facebook seems slightly counterproductive in my eyes. And it's annoying.
That's all.