Love, faith, feast and fasting for February

January 20th, 2010

Love, faith, feast and fasting for February

As a Christian, celebrating Valentine’s Day might not be the thing for you, but February gives you and your partner other chances to spend time together.

After Valentine’s Day passes on February 14, the new week brings Shrove Tuesday (February 16) and the start of on Lent on Ash Wednesday (February 17).

Shrove Tuesday, or Pancake Day, is a great day for fun in the kitchen, as the day is the eve of Lent and traditionally the night when family and friends feast together to use up all the food in the cupboards before the abstinence of Lent.

During Lent there are many foods that some Christians – historically and today – would not eat, like meat, fats, eggs, and milky foods, which is why pancakes are on the menu for the day.

Ash Wednesday is the day Christians were marked with ashes from burned crosses of the previous Palm Sunday as a mark of sorrow.

Pancake Day is a chance for fun and frolics

If you and your loved one have strong faith, then no doubt you will respect these days.

Although Lent is all about self-reflection and abstinence, there’s no reason Shrove Tuesday should not stand for a little fun as Lent takes us soberly along to Easter.

Many Christians have a dilemma between their faith and their partners that is highlighted at this time of the year.

If your partner does not worship with you, that does not make either of you good or bad, just different, providing you have that respect for the other’s beliefs and point of view.

Dilemma over your faith should not be any more of an issue than your partner’s choice of spending time with friends or at an activity they enjoy.

That’s really the spice of life – having different views and belief but a common love for each other.

For a modern Christian with a soul mate who respects their partner’s faith, taking some time out to say ‘love you’ should not raise any dilemma.