Did you give up anything for Lent?

[Mr One Wheel Drive]

I am not religious but the idea of giving up stuff for Lent resonates with my stoic sensibilities. Every year I give up things that I really enjoy, in order to appreciate them all the more in my life and what they mean to me and to be thankful for them. It also reinforces that while they are things that I enjoy, it's possible to go without. You get used to a more frugal / simple life (kind of an enforced reverse hedonistic adaptation).

Personally, I've given up alcohol and desserts, and am trying to live a healthier lifestyle. I have to admit that I cheat occasionally but so far I've managed to stick to it better than I thought. It's also saved a lot of money.

Sticking to the rules, the Sabbath is exempt from Lent, so once a week I allow myself some beer and it tastes reallllllllly good. I just celebrate the Sabbath on Friday nights ;)

Anyone else give anything up?

[southern granny]

I am religious, but not Catholic.  But like you,  the idea appeals to me.  I gave up ice cream for lent.  It is something that I absolutely love, but I don't need the calories.  So I thought it would be good for my soul and my body.  It has been rough, but I am making it.

[NinetyFour]

I am also a heathen not religious.  But a colleague is Catholic.  She used to frequently come into my office and eat the chocolate candies I had available, which was fine.  The idea was that I would NOT eat the chocolate but let others eat it--to build relationships in the department--but then occasionally I would fail bigtime and binge--ick.  Well, the Catholic colleague gave up candy for Lent.  I thought, if she can do it, so can I, so I haven't touched any of the chocolate--and hopefully, I won't after Easter either.

[Thegoblinchief]

Does giving up religion count?

First year as an atheist. Formerly Catholic.

[Jamesqf]

What's Lent?

(Rhetorical question: I know it's something the Christians tacked on when they stole repurposed the spring equinox festival.)

[bikebum]

Does giving up religion count?

First year as an atheist. Formerly Catholic.

Welcome to the dark side, haha.

[Honest Abe]

I gave up chocolate and have been periodically fasting. There is a shockingly good iOS app by the Catholic Relief Services "Operation Ricebowl." It allows you to log what you're skipping (cup of coffee, glass of wine at dinner, etc.) and then pledge that amount to its international aid efforts.

[RMD]

Protestant who married into a Catholic family...but only FIL is still active- he had to get a release from the Vatican to marry MIL, as he was far enough along toward the priesthood to require it.  At any rate, I'm hit or miss with Lent.  Some years I do it and it feels great, other years I try and fail miserably and some years it sneaks up on me and I just don't even bother.  This year I didn't bother.

[crazy jane]

I gave up alcohol and chocolate. Still good on the alcohol. I like the reasons given by the original poster. I'm not a regular when it comes to practicing but lent is something I've always done. My favorite was eight years ago I gave up driving to work and have been on the bike every since. :)

[ch12]

We gave up buying cookies. Not eating cookies. Buying cookies.

It's been rough, which just shows how far we've gone towards becoming wussypants. I used to be almost grainfree vegan, and now I'm a Wisconsin Mac and Cheese kinda girl. Neither of us ate cookies while in college; it was a major habit change when we moved here. I'm lactose intolerant, and I've never eaten so many dairy products as when we moved to Wisconsin. The cookies went with the large amounts of milk that she drank.

Not eating cookies has lead to increased consumption of turkey, cheese, and ice cream (mostly her, since I only eat at home on the weekends). It also made our March grocery bill about 40-50% higher than a normal month and more than double our lowest month. The awful irony of giving up one food for Lent but increasing resource consumption is not lost on us.

I've also spent every Lenten Friday constantly whimpering, "I'm hungry."

[Little Nell]

I gave up candy. I feel much better and have lost a few pounds.

[cmk]

I gave up my morning routine of drinking a half a pot of coffee.  Instead of coffee, I now start my day with Bible readings and hot lemon water.  I have to say that it was tough the first few days!  After Easter, I may go back to having coffee to start my day, but I hope I never creep back up to such a large amount.

[payitoff]

i gave up Facebook. ive been sinning more whenever im at it! with what people post and dramas they put there, i end up becoming judgemental, so far its almost a month, and im loving it.

[sol]

Does giving up religion count?

First year as an atheist. Formerly Catholic.

Giving up religion doesn't really appeal to me, because I kind of like the idea of participating in a supportive community of like minded individuals.  Giving up ridiculous ancient superstitions, however, that I'm totally behind.  We need a church where good people can congregate to be thankful for their blessings, without having to hate some people or pretend to do magic.

It still bothers me that so many of my friends think we can't live good lives without bowing down to an invisible muscular man with a beard or a sword.  Like "I'm sorry, you can't work at our soup kitchen unless you believe in vampires."  Seriously guys?  We have high speed internet in intercontinental airplanes and robots on mars.  Can we maybe set side the voodoo and tea leaves already?

As to making personal sacrifices for Lent, I think that if you need a patriarchal religion to impose on you some semblance of gratitude then you're probably not the type of person who is truly ready to accept the rewards it is trying to share.  It smacks too much of "the beatings will continue until moral improves."

[jpdcpajd]

Does giving up religion count?

First year as an atheist. Formerly Catholic.

Giving up religion doesn't really appeal to me, because I kind of like the idea of participating in a supportive community of like minded individuals.  Giving up ridiculous ancient superstitions, however, that I'm totally behind.  We need a church where good people can congregate to be thankful for their blessings, without having to hate some people or pretend to do magic.

It still bothers me that so many of my friends think we can't live good lives without bowing down to an invisible muscular man with a beard or a sword.  Like "I'm sorry, you can't work at our soup kitchen unless you believe in vampires."  Seriously guys?  We have high speed internet in intercontinental airplanes and robots on mars.  Can we maybe set side the voodoo and tea leaves already?

As to making personal sacrifices for Lent, I think that if you need a patriarchal religion to impose on you some semblance of gratitude then you're probably not the type of person who is truly ready to accept the rewards it is trying to share.  It smacks too much of "the beatings will continue until moral improves."

I do not think your response furthered anything other than your dislike of any religion why would you respond to a thread that was about lent which you have no interest in?

[Freckles]

Does giving up religion count?

First year as an atheist. Formerly Catholic.

That's hilarious.
"What did you give up for lent?"
"Catholicism."

That just cracks me up.  :)

[Ottawa]

Does giving up religion count?

First year as an atheist. Formerly Catholic.

Giving up religion doesn't really appeal to me, because I kind of like the idea of participating in a supportive community of like minded individuals.  Giving up ridiculous ancient superstitions, however, that I'm totally behind.  We need a church where good people can congregate to be thankful for their blessings, without having to hate some people or pretend to do magic.

It still bothers me that so many of my friends think we can't live good lives without bowing down to an invisible muscular man with a beard or a sword.  Like "I'm sorry, you can't work at our soup kitchen unless you believe in vampires."  Seriously guys?  We have high speed internet in intercontinental airplanes and robots on mars.  Can we maybe set side the voodoo and tea leaves already?

As to making personal sacrifices for Lent, I think that if you need a patriarchal religion to impose on you some semblance of gratitude then you're probably not the type of person who is truly ready to accept the rewards it is trying to share.  It smacks too much of "the beatings will continue until moral improves."

I hear your skepticism Sol, however, no need to open a debate on whether or not religion, ghosts, voodoo, karma and perpetual motion machines exist here...rather, best to keep it to the topic of "Did you give up anything for Lent?".   You could start an off-topic on Argumentum ad ignorantium though :-)

[Jamesqf]

Also, Christianity is a proselytizing faith.

Which means that we non-Christians must necessarily do a certain amount of anti-proselytizing, just to try to move things towards a balance.

[Thegoblinchief]

Also, Christianity is a proselytizing faith.

Which means that we non-Christians must necessarily do a certain amount of anti-proselytizing, just to try to move things towards a balance.

+1

Giving up religion doesn't really appeal to me, because I kind of like the idea of participating in a supportive community of like minded individuals.  Giving up ridiculous ancient superstitions, however, that I'm totally behind.  We need a church where good people can congregate to be thankful for their blessings, without having to hate some people or pretend to do magic.

Isn't that what this forum is about? :P

[Mr One Wheel Drive]

I'm surprised at the hostility of some people's responses. As I said in the OP, I'm atheist but I take the opportunity to give up things.

It could have been phrased as "what are you giving up for mega-mustache-March" or "are you fasting for Ramadam?" (in July).

The responses from the believers stuck to the spirit of my question. Whether you agree with their belief really isn't the topic in question.

[KES]

I also gave up facebook.

[jfer_rose]

I gave up added sugar (whole fruit=ok, anything with sugar or its various forms listed as an ingredient is not). I did it once before but I'm being stricter this time-- even things like honey and maple syrup are off limits and I am being very careful about checking ingredients labels. On top of that, I am limiting my alcohol consumption for when I am out (normally I have a small glass of wine with dinner many days). I feel great-- I'm thinking that I might continue avoiding added sugar 5 days a week even once Lent is over.