A PAUSE IN LENT...

I have struggled to write my post this morning (I almost emailed Floss to say I would not be taking part), when Floss said she intended to do 'A pause in Lent', I wanted to take part as I had enjoyed taking part in 'A pause in Advent'. 

 I had not realised just how difficult I would find it to write about...  the posts I wrote during Advent were consciously written with no reference to religion and were more about my family's way of celebrating that time of year.

Writing about Lent with no religious connection seems more difficult and I obviously do not want to cause any offence to others..

I found this information on  http://www.humanismforschools.org.uk/

The name ‘Easter’ derives from ‘Eostre’, the goddess of rebirth

after the barren winter. Almost everyone feels happier as the days grow

longer and warmer, flowers and leaves emerge, and the birds start to

sing.

Our ancestors, who would have been cold, hungry and confined to

smoky dark homes for most of the winter, would have had even more

reason to feel happy, and they would have enjoyed feasting on the last of

their winter stores and some fresh foods, knowing that there would be

plenty more over the summer.

Even now, people who live in places with

harsher and longer winters than ours ( Eastern Europe , the Alps) seem to

make more of Easter festivities and decorations than we do.

Fasting and

feasting, as in Lent followed by Easter, derive as much from the rhythms

of the seasons as they do from religious tradition.

So I suppose Lent to me means looking forward;  to longer days, more time spent outdoors and to new growth (not just in our environment but in ourselves - trying new things etc)

My family celebrate Easter by enjoying a few

days off work, turning off the central heating and opening the windows, but mostly spending time with family and friends (more of those traditions to come)....

So there you have it, not the traditional take on Lent maybe, but a different take....