People will be fasting in 2024 for Lent, with many still engaging in the practice today, including in Australia.

I was also surprised to read Nationals MP Barnaby Joyce who supposedly has a drinking problem, will also be giving up alcohol for Lent.

http://www.greatlakesadvocate.com.au/story/8526455/barnaby-quits-grog-for-lent-as-second-nats-mp-in-strife/

Coming up soon we also have Ramadan. A lot of people also fast for Ramadan in Australia as well.

Fasting - what is it really all for, does it achieve anything in real terms and is it worth it?

I remember this school teacher who got up at 4 am to stuff herself full with a humungous breakfast & then fasted till evening. She belonged to one of those hobby religions.

Ask the people who fast, not us, most of whom have no religion at all. There are more important things to think about.

Good Morning Nathan,

Thank You for this discussion. It brings back so many
memories of past traditions. Unfortunately, fasting
is no longer a Lent tradition for me these days. Just
as not eating meat on Fridays. Today, for our family
Easter is about coloured eggs, chocolate eggs, and
bunnies.

However, family get-togethers are still important.

I guess each of us has their own traditions - and are
they worth it? They certainly are - as my grandkids will
confirm!

I forgot to add that watching religious Easter-themed movies
still stirs emotionally, as does Easter
Mass - especially at St Patrick's Cathedral here in Melbourne
where the choir is especially glorious.

Nathan,

Fasting has been used for 1000s of years to improve health.

Modern science can now verify and explain the benefits of fasting.

Religious groups have incorporated the concept into their belief/control systems.

Hi Nathan,

A beautiful face will age. A perfect body will change.
But a beautiful soul will always be a beautiful soul.

Here's to Lent and Ramadan. I'm old school. I still
believe in respect.

Hi Nathan,

You ask if fasting for Lent and Ramadan - is worth it?

Of course it is for believers.

Both Lent and Ramadan practices provide an opportunity
for individuals to deepen their spiritual connection
with their God and draw closer to their faith.

All religions do things not understood by the non-religious, who probably should mind their own business, as the practices have no affect on them.

But, this morning comes the news that Hamas wants a 40 day ceasefire for Ramadam. I find that bizarre, coming from a terrorist organisation that hardly fits in with the 'religion of peace' theory, wanting to stop waging war for a fixed period to comply with a tradition of Islam.

Knowing the past history of Hamas we know that the 40 days would be used by the terrorists to regroup and do all sorts of things to enhance their efforts against Israel. The genuine Muslims wanting to observe Ramadan don't really figure in the call for a ceasefire.

Is it worth it?

What a first world question. Only people who've never known food shortages would or could ask such a question.

Lent/Ramadan etc have nothing to do with health. All of these practices emanate from the northern hemisphere. They all come near the end of winter.

500 to 10000 years ago, most people and societies lived year to year. You'd make hay while the sun shines and put away enough to survive the late autumn, winter and early spring months. Refrigeration was unknown. Salt was absolutely vital to ensure that things like meat would remain edible for these lean months.

But as you got toward the end of winter and before the bounty of spring kicked in, these stores of food would be getting low. So, you'd need to go without. You'd NEED to fast, not for your health but because you needed to stretch the dwindling supplies.

As with most things like this, societies turned these cultural requirements into religious requirements. Other examples are the semitic bans on pork and the taboos around circumcision. The summer solstice festivals (Christmas) were part of this, where you had a great feast to finish of the supplies that wouldn't keep into the late winter. In some cultures this was called Carnival or Carnivale - literally 'farewell meat'. Your salted meat supplies wouldn't last much longer so you had a festival to finish it off.

Our society, thanks to the agricultural revolutions ushered in by the British and later the US, has defeated food want. While there remains pockets where food is still a problem, world-wide we are producing more calories per capita than ever before, despite rising population.

So the societal need for fasting festivals no longer exists, just like things like saying farewell to meat is no longer necessary. It continues because of tradition in religion and culture.

Absolutely nothing to do with health.

Having said that, I do practice intermittent fasting for health/weight control purposes and find it to be of enormous benefit.

It seems that hitting the thread with a few facts bought it to a rapid close.