Have you ever wondered why people eat fish on Friday's during lent? Why is their so many fish fries, fried chicken, and pretty much everything except meat being served?

If you do a simple web search you stumble on several reasons for why the church embraces this discipline during lent. Some say it's a tradition that dates back hundreds of years, while others think the church was trying to support the fishing industry when times were tough. So what exactly is the true answer?

This tradition started happening around the second century of Christianity. Christians started to avoid eating meat on Friday as a kind of "sacrifice and reminder that acknowledged Jesus’ sacrifice on the Cross." History books begin to show an increase of fasting on Friday's to commemorate this sacrifice as early as the first century. Some people would fast the entire day, other's would choose to fast certain meals. This is how fish starts to swim it's way into the picture.

But again, Why fish?

Technically, it's the flesh of warmblooded animals that's off limits — an animal "that, in a sense, sacrificed its life for us, if you will," explains Michael Foley, an associate professor at Baylor University and author of Why Do Catholics Eat Fish On Friday?"

Fish are coldblooded, not warmblooded. Honestly Catholics could have chose lizards, or snakes....but fish seems like a better choice right?

That's why we see thousands of fish fries, fish specials, and fish sticks, show up on Friday's during lent. People do this in a way to show their appreciation towards Christ. Even if you aren't religious, you could still take advantage of all the deals on Friday's for fish.

 

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