Well, of course, such questions do not matter to this atheist. But, Lent coming on the heels of Maha Shivarathri, which I didn't observe (haha!) provides immense materials for me to ponder.
For one, observant Valentines cannot make their love to be a Shivarathri, if you know what I mean ;)
Catholic bishops have been telling parishioners that Valentine’s Day doesn’t give the more than one billion members of the church worldwide an exemption from the holy requirements of Ash Wednesday: abstaining from meat and fasting. (It’s not a holy day of obligation for Catholics, which means the faithful are not bound to attend mass or receive ashes on their foreheads, a symbol of the Christian belief that God created humans from dust.)Abstinence is required ... on Valentine's Day!
“Ash Wednesday and Good Friday are the only two days of the whole year on which fasting and abstinence are required,” Bishop Richard Malone of Buffalo said in an online video.
The confluence of the events — occurring for the first time since 1945 — has created a dilemma for Roman Catholics and followers of other Christian denominations who observe Ash Wednesday. How can one simultaneously mark a solemn day when foreheads are tapped with a symbol of mortality as a call to humility and repentance, while celebrating one that glorifies the kisses and champagne of romantic love?This gets even crazier as we look ahead to the end of the Lent calendar: Easter Sunday falls on April 1st, when those among us who love to prank others get all jazzed up to fool others.
So, what's up with all these dates for Fat Tuesday, Ash Wednesday, Good Friday, and Easter Sunday? It is all because of the old lunar calendar, which is how most traditional societies kept time.
Easter Sunday is the first Sunday after the equinox. Once this is determined, then the other ones are automatically backtracked from that Sunday.
Yes, I know, it is kind of strange that this atheist keeps track of major religious days. But, it should not surprise you one bit. Even a post marking Lent is not new here. Most of us folks are way more into religion than most supposedly believing folks are. We think about our existence a lot more than the "god-fearing" ones do. After all, the life is an existential struggle for believers and atheists alike, and we atheists are in awe about the mystery of it all!
We non-believers do not have to worry about designated days of abstinence, however. Every day is a cause for celebration--even for General Malaise ;)
2 comments:
Oh thanks. A nice post after the appalling one you made yesterday :)
"Observant Valentines cannot make their love to be a Shivarathri ". Just fort that brilliant sentence alone I'll forgive you for the previous post - as you can see I came to this one directly from there !!
Your observation that you did not celebrate Shivarathri and silence about Valentines Day is a nice way of saying what you actually celebrated :):)
Phew! I was not labelled a loony left for that sentence ;)
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