If we talk about a beautiful tradition in the Christian faith, we must talk about Lent. As a Catholic, I can speak about Catholic traditions, mainly in Spanish-speaking countries.
Before we talk about Lent, we must mention the carnival. This is a pagan celebration, but it reminds us that penance is approaching. The festival ends exactly before Lent with Fat Tuesday; the next day is Ash Wednesday. It is a celebration that is still deeply rooted in many countries, especially in countries with Latin roots. My mother always said Tuesday was the last day you could dance.
Mother: Today is the Tuesday of the carnival.
Me: Yes, I already heard that there are many celebrations today in many parts of the world. It’s a bad day to celebrate. Everyone has to work, and I have to go to school. They should change it to Saturday.
Mother: How are they going to change it? That day reminds us that Lent is coming.
Me: Why do you want people to remind you about it? The priest reminded us every Sunday in the church.
Mother: I remember that this was the last day we could dance when I was young. After Tuesday, we had to do penance and no dancing at all. Mom used to say that if you danced in Lent, your legs would dry up.
Me: Well, if that’s the case, I know many people who have danced in Lent. Did you dance in Lent? Grandmother says that you enjoy dancing a lot.
Mother: We better change the conversation. The important thing is to know that you must do penance in lent.
I never knew if my mother ever danced in Lent, but it is a beautiful tradition, which, I believe, is already in the past. I remember that as a child, they announced the dances on the radio and television on Saturday of Glory, the Saturday after Holy Friday. All the young people made their arrangements to go dancing on Saturday night.
In the Catholic tradition and other Christian religions, Lent always begins with Ash Wednesday. This Wednesday reminds believers it is a time of penance. The period of 40 days precedes Easter. On this day, Christians receive a cross on their foreheads with the ashes obtained by burning the palms used on Palm Sunday of the previous year.
The most traditional custom of Lent in the Catholic religion is the abstinence from meat. There are days like Ash Wednesday and Holly Thursday when Catholics do not eat meat. Meat is not consumed every Friday of Lent. Some days, like Ash Wednesday and Good Friday, are abstinence and fasting. Fasting is mandatory for people under 60, although sick people are exempt. This penance is tough to follow, and many people cannot fulfill it. Being without food all day is tough. But my grandmother had the perfect solution.
G. mother: Today is Ash Wednesday.
Me: And what does that mean?
G. Mother: Well, what do you think? You must fast.
Me: Do you mean that you cannot eat?
G. Mother: Exactly, you cannot eat.
Me: So, today, you don’t eat?
G. mother: Well, not exactly. You can make a meal a day.
Me: I understand it; you eat only once a day.
G. mother: Well, not exactly.
Me: But you said you were fasting all day.
G. mother: Well, not exactly.
Me: Grandma, can you tell me what it is? Not exactly?
G. Mother: It’s just that I have my method of fasting.
Me: Go on, I’m listening.
G. mother: I fast for half a day. After half a day, I can eat.
Me: Can I do the same?
G. mother: Boy, you cannot fast even for half an hour.
My grandmother was very frank. She was already exempt from fasting for her benefit. That half a day of fasting was much more than many people did before, and I would rather not say anything about it now.
Catholics, by tradition, used to, and I think they continue doing their penance in Lent. Priests always remind parishioners it is a time of penance. My father was a follower of Catholic beliefs, and penance was not exaction.
Uncle Fernando, how are you?
Father: I am good.
Uncle: Let’s have a beer; today is Sunday.
Father: No, I don’t want to.
Uncle: What did you say? You don’t want a beer? Are you sick? You do not look good.
Father: It’s Lent, and I’m not drinking beers.
Uncle: Do you want a shot of rum?
Father: No, I’m not drinking anything with alcohol.
Uncle: I always believed that your penance was not smoking.
Father: Yes, that was my penance, but last year, after Lent, I no longer needed a cigarette, so I quit smoking. Now, my penance is not to drink.
Uncle: And what will be next year? If you stop drinking after the Lenten season, you will not have any penance for next year.
Father: Well, I haven’t thought about that.
After one season of Lent, my father stopped smoking, although he always drank his beer on Sundays. After my father quit smoking, I realized that penance is a good way to end bad habits or habits that don’t do us any good.
In different communities, penance activities were often. The one that I remember most in my neighborhood is what everyone called the long walk. On the Sunday before Palm Sunday, the Catholic community gathered. They all proceeded to Sunday Mass, and at midday, they reconvened at the church to embark on a walking pilgrimage to a neighboring sanctuary called The Lourdes Grotto, which they completed themselves. This is a sanctuary dedicated to the Virgin of Lourdes. We left our church, walked, met other people from different churches, and ended up in the sanctuary of Lourdes in Trujillo Alto, a walk of several hours. On that walk, the Via Cruces was sung, and we prayed. This is one tradition of my community that I always remember with love.
