The fish fry season, which everyone anticipated, has finally arrived. After a year-long hiatus, the oil is poured into vats, the fish is breaded, and the long, hungry lines of fried fish-deprived patrons start forming. But is that all there is to fish fry season?
In the Christian church, Lent is a period of penitential preparation for Easter. It begins on Ash Wednesday, six and a half weeks before Easter, and provides 40 days for fasting and abstinence; Sundays are excluded in imitation of Jesus Christ's fasting in the wilderness before he began his public ministry. Therefore, certain pleasures, such as meat from animals that live on land commonly used for celebrations, may be withheld for penitential sacrifice. It is also a time for Christians to honor Christ as He begins his journeys.
Not every denomination or religion performs the Lenten observance by abstaining from meat. Some churches have Lent - en services. And enjoy the plethora of fish frys popping up.
