Details of fasting practices differ. Eastern Orthodox Christians fast during specified fasting seasons of the year, which include not only the better-known Great Lent, but also fasts on every Wednesday and Friday (except on special holidays), together with extended fasting periods before Christmas (the Nativity Fast), after Easter (the Apostles Fast) and in early August (the Dormition Fast).
Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons) fast for a full 24-hour period once per month – usually before the main meal on the first Saturday of the month and ending with the main meal on the following Sunday – this is termed by the church as fast and testimony weekend. Many church members use this time to pray and meditate to increase their spiritual strength. Many also use this time to bear testimony of the church at a special church service held on the first Sunday of each month. They also give [at least] the money they saved by their fast to the church which uses it for support of the poor. In addition, Latter-Day Saints may also fast and pray voluntarily for a full 24 or 48 hours when they feel that they need extra spiritual strength or guidance.[2] Like Muslims, they refrain from all drinking and eating unless they are small children or are physically unable to fast for example, diabetics are not expected to fast.
Fasting is also a feature of religions such as Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism. Mahayana traditions that follow the Brahma's Net Sutra may recommend that the laity fast "during the six days of fasting each month and the three months of fasting each year".[3] Members of the Baháʼí Faith observe a Nineteen-Day Fast from sunrise to sunset during March each year.
In the Baháʼí Faith, fasting is observed from sunrise to sunset during the Baháʼí month of ʻAlaʼ ( 1 or 2 March – 19 or 20 March).[4]Baháʼu'lláh established the guidelines in the Kitáb-i-Aqdas. It is the complete abstaining from both food and drink during daylight hours (including abstaining from smoking). Consumption of prescribed medications is not restricted. Observing the fast is an individual obligation and is binding on Baháʼís between 15 years (considered the age of maturity) and 70 years old.[4]
Exceptions to fasting include individuals younger than 15 or older than 70; those suffering illness; women who are pregnant, nursing, or menstruating; travellers who meet specific criteria; individuals whose profession involves heavy labor and those who are very sick, where fasting would be considered dangerous. For those involved in heavy labor, they are advised to eat in private and generally to have simpler or smaller meals than are normal.
Along with obligatory prayer, it is one of the greatest obligations of a Baháʼí.[4] In the first half of the 20th century, Shoghi Effendi, explains: "It is essentially a period of meditation and prayer, of spiritual recuperation, during which the believer must strive to make the necessary readjustments in his inner life, and to refresh and reinvigorate the spiritual forces latent in his soul. Its significance and purpose are, therefore, fundamentally spiritual in character. Fasting is symbolic, and a reminder of abstinence from selfish and carnal desires."[5]
The Buddha emaciated after undergoing severe ascetic practices. Gandhara, 2 – 3rd century CE. British Museum.
Buddhist monks and nuns following the Vinaya rules commonly do not eat each day after the noon meal.[6] This is not considered a fast but rather a disciplined regimen aiding in meditation and good health.
Once when the Buddha was touring in the region of Kasi together with a large sangha of monks he addressed them saying: I, monks, do not eat a meal in the evening. Not eating a meal in the evening I, monks, am aware of good health and of being without illness and of buoyancy and strength and living in comfort. Come, do you too, monks, not eat a meal in the evening. Not eating a meal in the evening you too, monks, will be aware of good health and..... living in comfort.[7]
Fasting is practiced by lay Buddhists during times of intensive meditation, such as during a retreat. During periods of fasting, followers completely stay away from eating animal products, although they do allow consumption of milk. Furthermore, they also avoid eating processed foods and the five pungent foods which are: garlic (Allium sativum), Welsh onion (Allium fistulosum), wild garlic (Allium oleraceum), garlic chives (Allium tuberosum), and asafoetida ("asant", Ferula asafoetida).[8]
The Middle Path refers to avoiding extremes of indulgence on the one hand and self-mortification on the other. Prior to attaining Buddhahood, prince Siddhartha practiced a short regime of strict austerity and following years of serenity meditation under two teachers which he consumed very little food. These austerities, undertaken alongside five other ascetics did not lead to progress in meditation, liberation (moksha), or the ultimate goal of nirvana. Henceforth, prince Siddhartha practiced moderation in eating which he later advocated for his disciples.[9]
On Uposatha days, roughly once a week, lay Buddhists are instructed to observe the eight precepts[9] which includes refraining from eating after noon until the following morning.[9] The eight precepts closely resemble the ten vinaya precepts for novice monks and nuns. The novice precepts are the same with an added prohibition against handling money.[10]
The Vajrayana practice of Nyung Ne is based on the tantric practice of Chenrezig.[11][12] It is said that Chenrezig appeared to an Indian nun[11] who had contracted leprosy and was on the verge of death. Chenrezig taught her the method of Nyung Ne[11] in which one keeps the eight precepts on the first day, then refrains from both food and water on the second. Although seemingly against the Middle Way, this practice is to experience the negative karma of both oneself and all other sentient beings and, as such is seen to be of benefit. Other self-inflicted harm is discouraged.[13][14]
Jesus Tempted in the Wilderness (Jésus tenté dans le désert), James Tissot, Brooklyn Museum (circa 1890)A vegetarian Lenten supper prepared according to the diet specified in the Daniel Fast: this particular meal includes black bean spaghetti, quinoa, and mixed vegetables composed of cucumbers, mushrooms, microgreens, arugula, and baby carrots.
Fasting is a practice in several Christian denominations and is done both collectively during certain seasons of the liturgical calendar, or individually as a believer feels led by the Holy Spirit.[15][16] In the traditional Black Fast, the observant abstains from food and liquids for a whole day until the evening, and at sunset, traditionally breaks the fast with a vegetarian meal.[17][18][19][20] Christians normatively fasted in this way during Lent prior to the 6th century, though it continues in certain denominations such as the Coptic Orthodox Church.[21][22]
The Teaching of the Twelve Apostles, written in the first century A.D., directed Christians to fast on both Wednesdays, in remembrance of the betrayal of Christ by Judas on Spy Wednesday, and Fridays, in mourning of the crucifixion of Jesus on Good Friday.[23] Historically, the Orthodox, Catholic, Anglican and Methodist denominations of Christianity have emphasized the importance of the Friday fast, which has traditionally involved fasting and abstinence from meat, lacticinia and alcohol.[24][25]
The pattern of fasting and praying for forty days is seen in the Bible, on which basis the liturgical season of Lent was established.[26][27][28] In the Torah, Moses went into the mountains for forty days and forty nights to pray and fast "without eating bread or drinking water" before receiving the Ten Commandments (cf. Exodus 34:28).[27] Likewise, the prophet Elijah went into the mountains for forty days and nights to fast and pray "until he reached Horeb, the mountain of God" when "the word of the Lord came to him" (cf. 1 Kings 19:8–9).[27] The early Christian bishop Maximus of Turin wrote that as Elijah by "fasting continuously for a period of forty days and forty nights...merited to extinguish the prolonged and severe dryness of the whole world, doing so with a stream of rain and steeping the earth's dryness with the bounty of water from heaven", in the Christian tradition, this is interpreted as being "a figure of ourselves so that we, also fasting a total of forty days, might merit the spiritual rain of baptism...[and] a shower from heaven might pour down upon the dry earth of the whole world, and the abundant waters of the saving bath might saturate the lengthy drought of the Gentiles."[29] In the New Testament, Jesus went into the desert to fast and pray for forty days and forty nights; it was during this time that Satan tried to tempt him (cf. Matthew 4:1–3).[27] The forty day and night fasts of Moses, Elijah, and Jesus prepared them for their work, and their examples were foundational to the establishment of Lent.[26][28]
Many Christians fast before receiving Holy Communion (traditionally this has been from midnight until the reception of the Eucharist). This is known as the Eucharistic Fast.[15]
Fish and chips are often served on Friday nights during Lent in the United States.
For Catholics, fasting, taken as a technical term, is the reduction of one's intake of food to one full meal (which may not contain meat on Ash Wednesday, Good Friday, and Fridays throughout the entire year unless a solemnity should fall on Friday[41]) and two small meals (known liturgically as collations), both of which together should not equal the large meal. Eating solid food between meals is not permitted. Fasting is required of the faithful between the ages of 18 and 59 on specified days. Complete abstinence of meat for the day is required of those 14 and older. Meat is understood as that of warm-blooded land animals.
In the Catholic Church, the forty days of Lent were days of fasting and abstinence from meat and lacticinia until these rules were relaxed by Pope Benedict XIV in Non Ambigimus and by Pope Leo XIII in Indultum quadragesimale.[42][43] Prior to the closure of the Second Vatican Council in 1965, all of the weekdays of Lent, totaling forty days, were days of fasting in the Catholic Church, with Fridays and Saturdays being days of abstinence from meat; these rules continue to be observed by certain Traditional Catholics, such as those worshipping in the chapels of Congregation of Mary Immaculate Queen (CMRI).[44][45][46]Pope Pius XII initially relaxed some of the regulations concerning fasting in 1956. In 1966, Pope Paul VI in his apostolic constitution Paenitemini, changed the strictly regulated Catholic fasting requirements. He recommended that fasting be appropriate to the local economic situation, and that all Catholics voluntarily fast and abstain. In the United States, there are only two obligatory days of fast – Ash Wednesday and Good Friday.[47] Though not under the pain of mortal sin, fasting on all forty days of Lent is "strongly recommended".[48] The Fridays of Lent are days of abstinence. Pastoral teachings since 1966 have urged voluntary fasting during Lent and voluntary abstinence on the other Fridays of the year. The regulations concerning such activities do not apply when the ability to work or the health of a person would be negatively affected.
Anglicanism
The 1662 Book of Common Prayer prescribes certain days as days for fasting and abstinence, "consisting of the 40 days of Lent, the ember days, the three Rogation days (the Monday to Wednesday following the Sunday after Ascension Day), and all Fridays in the year (except Christmas, if it falls on a Friday)":[25]
A Table of the Vigils, Fasts, and Days of Abstinence, to be Observed in the Year.
Note: if any of these Feast-Days fall upon a Monday, then the Vigil or Fast-Day shall be kept upon the Saturday, and not upon the Sunday next before it.
II. The Ember Days at the Four Seasons, being the Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday after the First Sunday in Lent, the Feast of Pentecost, September 14, and December 13.
III. The Three Rogation Days, being the Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, before Holy Thursday, or the Ascension of our Lord.
IV. All the Fridays in the Year, except Christmas Day.
Saint Augustine's Prayer Book defines "Fasting, usually meaning not more than a light breakfast, one full meal, and one half meal, on the forty days of Lent."[15]Abstinence, according to Saint Augustine's Prayer Book, "means to refrain from some particular type of food or drink. One traditional expression of abstinence is to avoid meat on Fridays in Lent or through the entire year, except in the seasons of Christmas and Easter. It is common to undertake some particular act of abstinence during the entire season of Lent. This self-discipline may be helpful at other times, as an act of solidarity with those who are in need or as a bodily expression of prayer."[49]
In the process of revising the Book of Common Prayer in various provinces of the Anglican Communion the specification of abstinence or fast for certain days has been retained. Generally Lent and Fridays are set aside, though Fridays during Christmastide and Eastertide are sometimes avoided. Often the Ember days or Rogation days are also specified, and the eves (vigils) of certain feasts.
In addition to these days of fasting, many Anglicans also observe a eucharistic fast. Saint Augustine's Prayer Book states that the eucharistic fast is a "strict fast from both food and drink from midnight" that is done "in order to receive the Blessed Sacrament as the first food of the day" in "homage to our Lord".[15] It implores Anglicans to fast for some hours before the Midnight Mass of Christmas Eve, the first liturgy of Christmastide.[15]
Orthodox Christians are required to fast on Wednesdays (in memory of Jesus' betrayal on Spy Wednesday) and Fridays (in memory of Jesus' crucifixion on Good Friday), which means not consuming olive oil, meat, fish, milk and dairy products until evening (sundown). The original Orthodox Christian law forbids all products derived from creatures who have blood. The supper that is eaten after the fast is broken in the evening must not include shellfish.[50] Additionally, Orthodox Christians abstain from sexual relations on Wednesdays and Fridays throughout the year, as with the entirety of Lent, the Nativity Fast and the fifteen days before the Feast of the Assumption of Mary.[40][22]
In the Coptic Orthodox Church, the Black Fast is the normative way of fasting during Great Lent; Coptic Orthodox Christians go without water and food from midnight to sunset; after that time, the consumption of water and one vegetarian meal is permitted.[22] Married couples abstain from sexual relations during this period "to give themselves time for fasting and prayer (1 Cor. 7: 5)."[22]
For Eastern Orthodox Christians, fasting is an important spiritual discipline, found in both the Old Testament and the New, and is tied to the principle in Orthodox theology of the synergy between the body (Greek: soma) and the soul (pneuma). That is to say, Orthodox Christians do not see a dichotomy between the body and the soul but rather consider them as a united whole, and they believe that what happens to one affects the other (this is known as the psychosomatic union between the body and the soul).[51][52] Saint Gregory Palamas argued that man's body is not an enemy but a partner and collaborator with the soul. Christ, by taking a human body at the Incarnation, has made the flesh an inexhaustible source of sanctification.[53] This same concept is also found in the much earlier homilies of Saint Macarius the Great.
Fasting can take up a significant portion of the calendar year. The purpose of fasting is not to suffer, but according to Sacred Tradition to guard against gluttony and impure thoughts, deeds and words.[54] Fasting must always be accompanied by increased prayer and almsgiving (donating to a local charity, or directly to the poor, depending on circumstances). To engage in fasting without them is considered useless or even spiritually harmful.[51] To repent of one's sins and to reach out in love to others is part and parcel of true fasting.
Partial fasting within the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, abstaining from meat and milk, takes place during certain times of the year and lasts for weeks.
Wednesdays and Fridays are also fast days throughout the year (with the exception of fast-free periods). In some Orthodox monasteries, Mondays are also observed as fast days (Mondays are dedicated to the angels, and monasticism is called the "angelic life").[52]
Other days occur which are always observed as fast days:
Fasting during these times includes abstention from:
meat, fish, eggs and milk products
sometimes oil (interpreted variously as abstention from olive oil only, or as abstention from all cooking oils in general), and
red wine (which is often interpreted as including all wine or alcoholic beverages)
sexual activity (where fasting is pre-communion)[55]
When a feast day occurs on a fast day, the fast is often mitigated (lessened) to some degree (though meat and dairy are never consumed on any fast day). For example, the Feast of the Annunciation almost always occurs within the Great Lent in the Orthodox calendar: in this case fish (traditionally haddock fried in olive oil) is the main meal of the day.
There are two degrees of mitigation: allowance of wine and oil; and allowance of fish, wine and oil. The very young and very old, nursing mothers, the infirm, as well as those for whom fasting could endanger their health somehow, are exempt from the strictest fasting rules.[51]
On weekdays of the first week of Great Lent, fasting is particularly severe, and many observe it by abstaining from all food for some period of time. According to strict observance, on the first five days (Monday through Friday) there are only two meals eaten, one on Wednesday and the other on Friday, both after the Presanctified Liturgy. Those who are unable to follow the strict observance may eat on Tuesday and Thursday (but not, if possible, on Monday) in the evening after Vespers, when they may take bread and water, or perhaps tea or fruit juice, but not a cooked meal. The same strict abstention is observed during Holy Week, except that a vegan meal with wine and oil is allowed on Great Thursday.[51]
On Wednesday and Friday of the first week of Great Lent the meals which are taken consist of xerophagy (literally, "dry eating") i.e. boiled or raw vegetables, fruit, and nuts.[51] In a number of monasteries, and in the homes of more devout laypeople, xerophagy is observed on every weekday (Monday through Friday) of Great Lent, except when wine and oil are allowed.
During certain festal times the rules of fasting are done away with entirely, and everyone in the church is encouraged to feast with due moderation, even on Wednesday and Friday. Fast-free days are as follows:
Two of the last three weeks before the beginning of Great Lent:
During the antepenultimate (third-to-last) week before Great Lent, all foods all allowed, even on Wednesday and Friday (popularly called "fast-free week", "meat-fare week" or "omnivorous week").
During the penultimate (second-to-last) week before Great Lent, regular fasting resumes on Wednesday and Friday (sometimes called "checkered week").
On the final week, believers cease eating meat but eat large quantities of eggs and dairy products to use them up before the beginning of Great Lent (popularly called "butter week" or "cheese-fare week").[56]
Methodism
In Methodism, fasting is considered one of the Works of Piety.[57] "The General Rules of the Methodist Church," written by the founder of Methodism, John Wesley, wrote that "It is expected of all who desire to continue in these societies that they should continue to evidence their desire of salvation, by attending upon all the ordinances of God, such are: the public worship of God; the ministry of the Word, either read or expounded; the Supper of the Lord; family and private prayer; searching the Scriptures; and fasting or abstinence."[58] Methodism's principal liturgical book The Sunday Service of the Methodists (put together by John Wesley), as well as The Directions Given to Band Societies (25 December 1744), mandated for Methodists fasting and abstinence from meat on all Fridays of the year,[24][59][60] a practice that was reemphasized by Phoebe Palmer and became standard in the Methodist churches of the holiness movement.[61][62] Additionally, the Discipline of the Wesleyan Methodist Church required Methodists to fast on "the first Friday after New-Year's-day; after Lady-day; after Midsummer-day; and after Michaelmas-day."[59] Historically, Methodist clergy are required to fast on Wednesdays, in remembrance of the betrayal of Christ, and on Fridays, in remembrance of His crucifixion and death.[63][58] Wesley himself also kept the Eucharistic Fast, fasting before receiving Holy Communion "for the purpose of focusing his attention on God," and asked other Methodist Christians to do the same.[58] In accordance with Scripture and the teachings of the Church Fathers, fasting in Methodism is done "from morning until evening"; John Wesley kept a more rigorous Friday Fast, fasting from sundown (on Thursday) until sundown (on Friday) in accordance with the liturgical definition of a day.[58][64]
In many Methodist connexions, fasting during the Christian season of repentance, Lent, has been emphasized due to what is seen as its biblical origin of "Jesus, as part of his spiritual preparation, went into the wilderness and fasted 40 days and 40 nights".[65][34] Urged by the hierarchs of certain Methodist connexions to do so, many Methodist congregations undertake the Daniel Fast for the whole duration of Lent, in which believers abstain from meat and lacticinia for the entire 40 day season of repentance.[34]Good Friday, which is towards the very end of the Lenten season, is traditionally an important day of communal fasting for Methodists.[32] Rev. Jacqui King, the minister of Nu Faith Community United Methodist Church in Houston, explained the philosophy of fasting during Lent as "I'm not skipping a meal because in place of that meal I'm actually dining with God".[66]
All Oriental Orthodox churches practice fasting; however, the rules of each church differ. All churches require fasting from midnight onwards before one receives Holy Communion. All churches practice fasting on most Wednesdays and Fridays throughout the year as well as observing many other days. Monks and nuns also observe additional fast days not required of the laity.
The Armenian Apostolic Church (with the exception of the Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem) has followed the Gregorian calendar since 1923, making it and the Finnish Orthodox Church (an Eastern Orthodox church) the only Orthodox churches to primarily celebrate Easter on the same date as Western Christianity. As a result, the Armenian church's observation of Lent generally begins and ends before that of other Orthodox churches.
Lutheran
Martin Luther, the Protestant Reformer, held that fasting served to "kill and subdue the pride and lust of the flesh".[67] As such, the Lutheran churches often emphasize voluntary fasting over collective fasting, though certain liturgical seasons and holy days are times for communal fasting and abstinence.[68][69] Certain Lutheran communities advocate fasting during designated times such as Lent,[31][70] especially on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday.[33][31][71][72]A Handbook for the Discipline of Lent delineates the following Lutheran fasting guidelines:[73]
Fast on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday with only one simple meal during the day, usually without meat.
Refrain from eating meat (bloody foods) on all Fridays in Lent, substituting fish for example.
Eliminate a food or food group for the entire season. Especially consider saving rich and fatty foods for Easter.
Consider not eating before receiving Communion in Lent.
Abstain from or limit a favorite activity (television, movies, etc.) for the entire season, and spend more time in prayer, Bible study, and reading devotional material.[73]
It is also considered to be an appropriate physical preparation for partaking of the Eucharist, but fasting is not necessary for receiving the sacrament. Martin Luther wrote in his Small Catechism "Fasting and bodily preparation are certainly fine outward training, but a person who has faith in these words, 'given for you' and 'shed for you for the forgiveness of sin' is really worthy and well prepared."[74]
Reformed
John Calvin, the figurehead of the Reformed tradition (the Continental Reformed, Congregational, Presbyterian, and Anglican Churches) held that communal fasts "would help assuage the wrath of God, thus combating the ravages of plague, famine and war."[67] In addition, individual fasting was beneficial in that "in preparing the individual privately for prayer, as well as promoting humility, the confession of guilt, gratitude for God's grace and, of course, discipling lust."[67] As such, many of the churches in the Reformed tradition retained the Lenten fast in its entirety.[30] The Reformed Church in America describes the first day of Lent, Ash Wednesday, as a day "focused on prayer, fasting, and repentance" and considers fasting a focus of the whole Lenten season,[75] as demonstrated in the "Invitation to Observe a Lenten Discipline", found in the Reformed liturgy for the Ash Wednesday service, which is read by the presider:[76]
We begin this holy season by acknowledging our need for repentance and our need for the love and forgiveness shown to us in Jesus Christ. I invite you, therefore, in the name of Christ, to observe a Holy Lent, by self-examination and penitence, by prayer and fasting, by practicing works of love, and by reading and reflecting on God's Holy Word.[76]
Good Friday, which is towards the end of the Lenten season, is traditionally an important day of communal fasting for adherents of the Reformed faith.[32] In addition, within the Puritan/Congregational tradition of Reformed Christianity, special days of humiliation and thanksgiving "in response to dire agricultural and meteororological conditions, ecclesiastsical, military, political, and social crises" are set apart for communal fasting.[77]
In more recent years, many churches affected by liturgical renewal movements have begun to encourage fasting as part of Lent and sometimes Advent, two penitential seasons of the liturgical year.
Anabaptist
Members of the Anabaptist movement generally fast in private. The practice is not regulated by ecclesiastic authority.[78]
Moravian / Hussite
Members of the Moravian Church voluntarily fast during the season of Lent, along with making a Lenten sacrifice for the season as a form of penitence.[79]
Classical Pentecostalism does not have set days of abstinence, but individuals in the movement may feel they are being directed by the Holy Spirit to undertake either short or extended fasts. Although Pentecostalism has not classified different types of fasting, certain writers within the movement have done so. Arthur Wallis writes about the "Normal Fast" in which pure water alone is consumed.[80] The Black Fast in which nothing, not even water, is consumed is also mentioned. In addition to the normal fast and black fast, some undertake what is referred to as the Daniel Fast (or Partial Fast) in which only one type of food (e.g., fruit or fruit and non-starchy vegetables) is consumed.[80] In the Daniel Fast, outlined in Daniel 10:2-3 in the Bible, "In those days I Daniel was mourning three full weeks. I ate no pleasant bread, neither came flesh nor wine in my mouth, neither did I anoint myself at all until three whole weeks were fulfilled." In some circles of Pentecostals, the term "fast" is simply used, and the decision whether to drink water as a part of the fast is determined on an individual basis.
For members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), fasting is total abstinence from food and drink accompanied by prayer. Members are encouraged to fast on the first Sunday of each month, designated as Fast Sunday. During Fast Sunday, members abstain from food and drink for two consecutive meals in a 24-hour period;[2] this is usually Sunday breakfast and lunch, thus the fasting occurs between the evening meal on Saturday and the evening meal on Sunday. The money saved by not having to purchase and prepare meals is donated to the church as a fast offering, which is then used to help people in need.[81] Members are encouraged to donate more than just the minimal amount, and be as generous as possible. Gordon B. Hinckley stated: "Think ... of what would happen if the principles of fast day and the fast offering were observed throughout the world. The hungry would be fed, the naked clothed, the homeless sheltered. ... A new measure of concern and unselfishness would grow in the hearts of people everywhere."[82] Fasting and the associated donations for use in assisting those in need, are an important principle as evidenced by church leaders addresses on the subject during general conferences of the church.[83]
Sunday worship meetings on Fast Sunday include opportunities for church members to publicly bear testimony of their belief in Jesus Christ and church doctrine during the sacrament meeting portion, often referred to as fast and testimony meeting.[84]
Fasting is also encouraged for members any time they desire to grow closer to God and to exercise self-mastery of spirit over body. Members may also implement personal, family, or group fasts any time they desire to solicit special blessings from God, including health or comfort for themselves or others.[84]
Daniel Fast
The Book of Daniel (1:2–20, and 10:2–3) refers to a 10- or 21-day avoidance (the Daniel Fast) of foods declared unclean by God in the laws of Moses.[85][86] In modern versions of the Daniel Fast, food choices may be limited to whole grains, fruits, vegetables, pulses, nuts, seeds and oil. The Daniel Fast resembles the vegan diet in that it excludes foods of animal origin.[86] The passages strongly suggest that the Daniel Fast will promote good health and mental performance, due to God's blessing.[85]
Fasting is an optional part of Hinduism. Individuals observe different kinds of fasts based on personal beliefs and local customs.[87]
Fasting days
Some Hindus fast on certain days of the month such as Ekadasi,[88]Pradosha, or Purnima. Certain days of the week are also set aside for fasting depending on personal belief and favorite deity. For example, devotees of Shiva tend to fast on Mondays,[89] while devotees of Vishnu tend to fast on Thursdays and devotees of Ayyappa tend to fast on Saturdays. Tuesday fasting is common in southern India as well as northwestern India. In Tamil Nadu, it is believed that Tuesday is dedicated to Goddess Mariamman, a form of Goddess Shakti. Devotees eat before sunrise and drink only liquids between sunrise and sunset. Only liquids between a prescribed period, like water fasting, is half fasting.
In the North, Tuesday and Saturday are dedicated to Lord Hanuman and devotees are allowed only to consume milk and fruit between sunrise and sunset. Thursday fasting is common among the Hindus of northern India. On Thursdays, devotees listen to a story before opening their fast. On the Thursday fasters also worship Vrihaspati Mahadeva. They wear yellow clothes, and meals with yellow colour are preferred. Women worship the banana tree and water it. Food items are made with yellow-coloured ghee. Thursday is also dedicated to Guru and many Hindus who follow a guru will fast on this day.
Fasting during religious festivals is also very common. Common examples are Maha Shivaratri (Most people conduct a strict fast on Maha Shivratri, not even consuming a drop of water ), or the nine days of Navratri (which occurs twice a year in the months of April and October/November during Vijayadashami just before Diwali, as per the Hindu calendar). Karwa Chauth is a form of fasting practised in some parts of India where married women undertake a fast for the well-being, prosperity, and longevity of their husbands. The fast is broken after the wife views the moon through a sieve.
In the fifth month (Shravan Maas) of the Hindu calendar, many celebrate Shraavana. During this time some will fast on the day of the week that is reserved for worship of their chosen god(s), while others will fast during the entire month.[90] In the state of Andhra Pradesh, the month of Kartik (month), which begins with the day after Deepavali is often a period of frequent (though not necessarily continuous) fasting for some people, especially women. Common occasions for fasting during this month include Mondays for Lord Shiva, the full-moon day of Karthika and the occasion of Naagula Chaviti.
Methods of fasting
Methods of fasting also vary widely and cover a broad spectrum. If followed strictly, the person fasting does not partake any food or water from the previous day's sunset until 48 minutes after the following day's sunrise. Fasting can also mean limiting oneself to one meal during the day, abstaining from eating certain food types or eating only certain food types. In any case, the fasting person is not supposed to eat or even touch any animal products (i.e., meat, eggs) except dairy products. For many Hindu communities during fasting, starchy items such as potatoes, Sago and sweet potatoes,[91] purple-red sweet potatoes, amaranth seeds,[92]nuts and shama millet are allowed.[93] Popular fasting dishes in western part of India include Farari chevdo, Sabudana Khichadi or peanut soup.[94]
Fasting in scriptures
In Shri Vidya, one is forbidden to fast because the Devi is within them, and starving would in return starve the god. The only exception in Srividya for fasting is on the anniversary of the day one's parents died.
Yudhishthira asks Bhishma, "what constitutes the highest penances?" Bheeshma states (in section 103):
....there is no penance that is superior to abstention from food! In this connection is recited the ancient narrative of the discourse between Bhagiratha and the illustrious Brahman (the Grandsire of the Creation).[95]
The vow of fast was known to Indra. He kept it a secret but USANAS first made it known to the universe ... In my opinion, there is no penance higher than fast... the present that flowed from me were as copious as the stream of the Ganga herself (but ..) it is not through the merits of these acts that I have attained this region.
Bhagiratha did many sacrifices and gave gifts.and saysBhagiratha observed the vow of fasting and reached "the region of Brahman". Bheeshma advises Yudhishthira,
Do thou practice this vow (of fasting) of very superior merit that is not known to all.
In section 109, of the same book, Yudhishthira asks Bheesma, What is the highest, most beneficial and fruitful of all kinds of fasts in the world? Bheeshma says "fasting on the 12th day of the lunar month and worship Krishna, for the whole year. Krishna is worshipped in twelve forms as Kesava, Narayana, Madhava, Govinda, Vishnu, the slayer of Madhu, who covered the universe in three steps, the dwarf (who beguiled Mahabali), Sridhara, Hrishikesha, Padmanabha, Damodara, Pundhariksha. and Upendra. After fasting, one must feed a number of Brahmans." Bheeshma says " the illustrious Vishnu, that ancient being, has himself said that there is no fast that possesses merit superior to what attach to fast of this kind."[96] In section 106, of the same book, Yudhishthira says,
The disposition (of observing fasts) is seen in all orders of men including the very Mlechchhas..... What is the fruit that is earned in this world by the man that observes fasts?
Bheeshma replies that he had asked Angiras the very same question that he had asked him that day. The illustrious Angiras says,
Brahmans and kshatriya should fast for three nights at a stretch is the maximum. A person who fasts on the eight and fourteenth day of the dark fortnight becomes freed from maladies of all kinds and possessed of great energy.
Fasting for one meal every day during a lunar month gets various boons according to the month in which he fasts.[97] For example, fasting for one meal every day during Margashirsha, 'acquires great wealth and corn'.
Vaishnavism
In Vaishnavism, in some specific periods of time (like Caturmasya or Ekadashi fasting) it is said that one who fasts on these days and properly doing spiritual practice on these days like associating with devotees -sangha, chanting holy names of Hari (Vishnu, Narayana, Rama, Krishna) and similar (shravanam, kirtanam vishno) may be delivered from sins.[88]
In Islam, fasting requires abstinence from food, drink, drugs (including nicotine) and sexual intercourse. However, there is also a broader sense of fasting which includes abstaining from any falsehood in speech and action, abstaining from any ignorant and indecent speech, and from arguing and fighting. Therefore, fasting strengthens control of impulses and helps develop good behavior. During the sacred month of Ramadan, believers strive to purify body and soul and increase their taqwa (good deeds and God-consciousness). This purification of body and soul harmonizes the inner and outer spheres of an individual.
Muslims aim to improve their body by reducing food intake and maintaining a healthier lifestyle. Overindulgence in food is discouraged and eating only enough to silence the pain of hunger is encouraged. Muslims believe they should be active, tending to all their commitments and never falling short of any duty. On a moral level, believers strive to attain the most virtuous characteristics and apply them to their daily situations. They try to show compassion, generosity and mercy to others, exercise patience, and control their anger. In essence, Muslims are trying to improve what they believe to be good moral character and habits.
Fasting is obligatory for every Muslim one month in the year, during Ramadan. Each day, the fast begins at dawn and ends at sunset. During this time Muslims are asked to remember those who are less fortunate than themselves as well as bringing them closer to God. Non obligatory fasts are two days a week as well as the middle of the month, as recommended by Muhammad.
Although fasting at Ramadan is fard (obligatory), exceptions are made for persons in particular circumstances.[98] Muslims are encouraged to fast optionally outside of Ramadan as well, as a way of asking forgiveness from or showing gratitude to God and in many other days.
Ashura
Ashura is the Islamic counterpart to the Jewish fast of Yom Kippur, to thank God for saving Moses and the Jewish people from Egypt. It is also encouraged to fast the day before, or the day after, or all three days. The same day also marks the martyrdom of Husayn ibn Ali and his family. Although, it is not obligatory, many Sunni Muslims fast on this day. Shia Muslims usually refrain from eating on that day till the time of Asr Prayer and called it a "Faqa", which means abstaining from consuming food without an intent of a fast, in remembrance of the sacrifice of Husayn ibn Ali and his associates.[99][100][101]
Shawwal
Some Muslims observe fasting during any six days of Shawwal. The reasoning behind this tradition is that a good deed in Islam is rewarded 10 times, hence fasting 30 days during Ramadan and 6 days during Shawwāl is equivalent to fasting the whole year in fulfillment of the obligation.[102]
Arafah
Fasting on the day of Arafah for non-pilgrims is a highly recommended Sunnah which entails a great reward; Allah forgives the sins of two years. Imam An-Nawawi mentioned in his book al-Majmu’, “With regard to the ruling on this matter, Imam As-Shafi’i and his companions said: It is mustahabb (recommended) to fast on the day of Arafah for the one who is not in Arafah.[103] Those who are not performing their hajj may observe fasting to gain the merits of the blessed day.[104]
Dhu al-Hijjah
During the first nine days of the month of Dhu al-Hijjah, i.e. the nine days before Eid al-Adha, and from these especially on Day of Arafah and day before Eid al-Adha.
Ayyam al-Bid
Ayyam al-Bīḍ or "The White Days", the three days of the full moon. These fall on the 13th, 14th, and 15th of each Islamic month. Fasting in this style results in 32 optional fasts in a lunar year, as fasting in Ramadan is mandatory and it is forbidden to fast on the 13th of Dhu al-Hijjah.
Fast of Dawud
Fast of Dawud (David): fasting alternate days the whole year round. This style of fasting is attributed to Dawud. The discouragement of fasting on Friday alone without also fasting on either Thursday or Saturday is lifted for those fasting consistently in this style.[105] It results in around 140 optional fasts in a lunar year, which is around 355 days long.
Fasting for Jews means completely abstaining from food and drink, including water. Traditionally observant Jews fast six days of the year. With the exception of Yom Kippur, fasting is never permitted on Shabbat, for the commandment of keeping Shabbat is biblically ordained and overrides the later rabbinically instituted fast days. (The minor fast of the Tenth of Tevet could also override the Shabbat, but the current calendar system prevents this from ever occurring.[108])
Yom Kippur is considered to be the most important day of the Jewish year-cycle (not counting Shabbat) and fasting as a means of repentance is expected of every Jewish man or woman above the age of bar mitzvah and bat mitzvah respectively. This is the only fast day mentioned in the Torah (Leviticus 23:26-32). It is so important to fast on this day, that only those who would be put in mortal danger by fasting are exempt, such as the ill or frail (endangering a life is against a core principle of Judaism); such people are actually forbidden from fasting.[109] Those that do eat on this day are encouraged to eat as little as possible at a time and to avoid a full meal. For some, fasting on Yom Kippur is considered more important than the prayers of this holy day. If one fasts, even if one is at home in bed, one is considered as having participated in the full religious service.
Tisha B'Av and Yom Kippur are the major fasts and are observed from sunset to the following day's dusk. The remaining four fasts are considered minor. Fasting is only observed from sunrise to dusk, and there is more leniency if the fast represents too much of a hardship to a sick or weak person, or pregnant or nursing woman.
There are other minor customary fast days, but these are not universally observed, and they include:
"Bahav," (literally an acronym for "Monday, Thursday, Monday") a Monday, Thursday, and the following Monday in the months Cheshvan and Iyar.
"Yom Kippur Katan," (literally "Little Yom Kippur") the day before every Rosh Chodesh, moved back to Thursday if that day is Saturday
The Fast of the Firstborn, on the day before Passover, which applies only to first-born sons; this obligation is usually avoided by participating in a siyum and ritual meal that takes precedence over fasting.
It is an Ashkenazic tradition for a bride and groom to fast on their wedding day before the ceremony as the day represents a personal Yom Kippur. In some congregations, repentance prayers that are said on Yom Kippur service are included by the bride and groom in their private prayers before the wedding ceremony.
Aside from these official days of fasting, Jews may take upon themselves personal or communal fasts, often to seek repentance in the face of tragedy or some impending calamity. For example, a fast is sometimes observed if a sefer torah is dropped. The length of the fast varies, and some Jews will reduce the length of the fast through tzedakah, or charitable acts. Mondays and Thursdays are considered especially auspicious days for fasting. Traditionally, one also fasted upon awakening from an unexpected bad dream although this tradition is rarely kept nowadays.
In the time of the Talmud, drought seems to have been a particularly frequent inspiration for fasts. In modern times as well the Israeli Chief Rabbinate has occasionally declared fasts in periods of drought.
In Mandaeism, fasting is referred to as ṣauma (Classical Mandaic: ࡑࡀࡅࡌࡀ). Although ṣauma can refer to physical fasting, it is more often used in Mandaeism to refer to spiritual piety and abstaining from sin.[110]
Pre-Columbian Americas
Refraining from food and water with religious purposes has been practiced over the centuries by many Indigenous groups throughout Mesoamerica as part of ceremonial life. Most of the literature around this topic falls under the broader ethnological category of sacrifice, which has been studied broadly by scholars.
Apart from refraining from ingesting food, fasting may involve restrictions such as drinking water or consuming food at specific times, and omitting salt or chile from all food. Sexual abstinence frequently accompanies fasting, and both practices may last periods as short as three days or as long as a year.[111] The ritual expectations around fasting are conditioned by age, gender, kinship ties, social position, and specific ceremonial contexts. For example, sometimes these restrictions are required of persons before they assume ritual posts or perform specific ceremonial obligations. Fasting and sexual abstinence are often observed by all participants in certain rituals—such as those performed to bring rain for planting maize or to end a drought—by those departing on pilgrimages to sacred places, and among extended kinship networks during curing ceremonies. These practices may be necessary before people ingest ritual foods or other substances and before they handle ritual objects or religious images.[111]
In Mesoamerican cultures, human action is regarded as a necessary complement to divine and natural forces in order to achieve specific objectives, such as the beginning or cessation of annual rains, the productivity of a harvest, harmonious relations between the living and the dead, and fertility among humans and domestic animals.[111]
Catherine Good has argued that many Mesoamerican rituals are based on the concept of vital energy, which circulates among humans, the souls of the dead, elements of the natural world, sacred places, and ritual objects, including Roman Catholic saints. Consuming certain foods and plants, and abstaining from sexual relations enables humans to capture, control, and channel the flow of this energy to desired ends.[112]
Sikhism
Sikhism does not regard fasting as a spiritual act. Fasting as an austerity or as a mortification of the body by means of wilful hunger is discouraged in Sikhism. Sikhism encourages temperance and moderation in food, i.e., neither starve nor over-eat.[113]
Sikhism does not promote fasting except for medical reasons. The Sikh Gurus discourage the devotee from engaging in this ritual as it "brings no spiritual benefit to the person". The Sikh holy Scripture, Sri Guru Granth Sahib tell us: "Fasting, daily rituals, and austere self-discipline – those who keep the practice of these, are rewarded with less than a shell." (Guru Granth Sahib Ang 216).
If you keep fast, then do it a way so that you adopt the compassion, well-being and ask for good will of everyone. "Let your mind be content, and be kind to all beings. In this way, your fast will be successful." (Guru Granth Sahib Ji, Ang 299)
Serve God who alone is your Savior instead indulge into ritual, he is only one who will save you every where: "I do not keep fasts, nor do I observe the month of Ramadaan. I serve only the One, who will protect me in the end. ||1||" (Guru Granth Sahib Ji, Ang 1136)
If you keep fast, to count everyday pledge yourself you will act honest, sincere, controls your desires, mediate. This is a way how you make yourself free of five thieves: "On the ninth day(naomi) of the month, make a vow to speak the Truth, and your sexual desire, anger and desire shall be eaten up. On the tenth day, regulate your ten doors; on the eleventh day, know that the Lord is One. On the twelfth day, the five thieves are subdued, and then, O Nanak, the mind is pleased and appeased. Observe such a fast as this, O Pandit, O religious scholar; of what use are all the other teachings? ||2||" (Guru Granth Sahib Ji, Ang 1245)
Goal of Human is to meet the Lord-groom, so Guru Sahib Ji says: "One who discards this grain, is practicing hypocrisy. She is neither a happy soul-bride, nor a widow. Those who claim in this world that they live on milk alone, secretly eat whole loads of food. ||3|| Without this grain, time does not pass in peace. Forsaking this grain, one does not meet the Lord of the World." (Guru Granth Sahib Ji, Ang 873)
"Fasting on Ekadashi, adoration of Thakurs (stones) one remains away from Hari engaged in the Maya and omens. Without the Guru's word in the company of Saints one does not get refuge no matter how good one looks." (Bhai Gurdas Ji, Vaar 7)[114]
The bigu (辟谷 "avoiding grains") fasting practice originated as a Daoist technique for becoming a xian (仙 "transcendent; immortal"), and later became a Traditional Chinese medicine cure for the sanshi (三尸 "Three Corpses; the malevolent, life-shortening spirits that supposedly reside in the human body"). Chinese interpretations of avoiding gu "grains; cereals" have varied historically; meanings range from not eating particular foodstuffs such as food grain, Five Cereals (China), or staple food to not eating anything such as inedia, breatharianism, or aerophagia.
Yoga
In Yoga principle, it is recommended that one maintains a spiritual fast on a particular day each week (Monday or Thursday). A fast should also be maintained on the full moon day of each month. It is essential on the spiritual fasting day not only to abstain from meals, but also to spend the whole day with a positive, spiritual attitude. On the fasting day, intake of solid food is avoided, with water taken as needed.[115]
Japanese history
Japan has used fasting as punishment for meat consumption. Consumption of domesticated animals was banned by Emperor Tenmu in 675 A.D. from April to September due to Buddhist influences. Wild game was exempt.[116] These laws were regularly flouted. According to the Engishiki, in the Heian Period, fasts began to be used as punishment for the Buddhist sin of meat consumption, initially for 3 days. Eating meat other than seafood, defined here simply as "meat", was seen by Buddhist elite as a kind of spiritually corrupted practice.[116]
By the Kamakura Period, much stricter enforcement and punishments began, with an order from Ise Shrine for a fast for 100 days for eating wild or domestic animals as defined above. Anyone who ate with someone who ate "meat" was required to fast for 21 days. Anyone who ate with someone who ate with someone who consumed "meat" was required to fast for 7 days.[116]
Great Lent, or the Great Fast, is the most important fasting season of the church year within many denominations of Eastern Christianity. It is intended to prepare Christians for the greatest feast of the church year, Pascha (Easter).
Friday is the day of the week between Thursday and Saturday. In countries that adopt the traditional "Sunday-first" convention, it is the sixth day of the week. In countries adopting the ISO 8601-defined "Monday-first" convention, it is the fifth day of the week.
Shrove Tuesday is the final day of Shrovetide, marking the end of pre-Lent. Lent begins the following day with Ash Wednesday. Shrove Tuesday is observed in many Christian countries through participating in confession; the ritual burning of the previous year's Holy Week palms; finalizing one's Lenten sacrifice; as well as eating pancakes and other sweets.
Ash Wednesday is a holy day of prayer and fasting in many Western Christian denominations. It is preceded by Shrove Tuesday and marks the first day of Lent, the six weeks of penitence before Easter.
Holy Week is the most sacred week in the liturgical year in Christianity. For all Christian traditions, it is a moveable observance. In Eastern Christianity, which also calls it Great Week, it is the week following Great Lent and Lazarus Saturday, starting on the evening of Palm Sunday and concluding on the evening of Great Saturday. In Western Christianity, Holy Week is the sixth and last week of Lent, beginning with Palm Sunday and concluding on Holy Saturday.
Christian vegetarianism is the practice of keeping to a vegetarian lifestyle for reasons connected to or derived from the Christian faith. The three primary reasons are spiritual, nutritional, and ethical. The ethical reasons may include a concern for God's creation, a concern for animal rights and welfare, or both. Likewise, Christian veganism is not using any animal products for reasons connected to or derived from the Christian faith. Pescatarianism was widespread in the early Church, among both the clergy and laity. Among the early Judeo-Christian Gnostics the Ebionites held that John the Baptist, James the Just and Jesus were vegetarians.
A fish fry is a meal containing battered or breaded fried fish. It usually also includes french fries, coleslaw, macaroni salad, lemon slices, tartar sauce, hot sauce, malt vinegar and dessert. Some Native American versions are cooked by coating fish with semolina and egg yolk.
The Friday fast is a Christian practice of variously abstaining from meat, dairy products and alcohol, on Fridays, or holding a fast on Fridays, that is found most frequently in the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, Catholic, Lutheran, Anglican and Methodist traditions. The Teaching of the Twelve Apostles, written in the first century A.D., directed Christians to fast on both Wednesdays and Fridays. The Wednesday fast is done in remembrance of the story of the betrayal of Christ by Judas on Spy Wednesday, while the Friday fast is done in commemoration of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ on Good Friday. As such, all Fridays of the year have been historically kept in many parts of Christendom as a day of strict fasting and abstinence from alcohol, meat and lacticinia. Abstinence from meat on Fridays is done as a sacrifice by many Christians because they believe that on Good Friday, Jesus sacrificed his flesh for humanity. In the Eastern Orthodox Church, in addition to fasting from food until sundown, the faithful are enjoined to abstain from sexual relations on Fridays as well.
Xerophagy is a form of ancient Christian fasting in which a believer fasts from food and water until sunset, as well as abstains from meat, alcohol and succulent fruits for the one meal that is consumed after sunset; the early Church's Apostolic Constitutions enjoin for the meal eaten after sundown: bread, salt, water, nuts, as well as vegetables cooked with water and salt. The early Christian apologist Tertullian references this manner of fasting in his works.
The Catholic Church historically observes the disciplines of fasting and abstinence at various times each year. For Catholics, fasting is the reduction of one's intake of food, while abstinence refers to refraining from something that is good, and not inherently sinful, such as meat. The Catholic Church teaches that all people are obliged by God to perform some penance for their sins, and that these acts of penance are both personal and corporeal. Bodily fasting is meaningless unless it is joined with a spiritual avoidance of sin. Basil of Caesarea gives the following exhortation regarding fasting:
Let us fast an acceptable and very pleasing fast to the Lord. True fast is the estrangement from evil, temperance of tongue, abstinence from anger, separation from desires, slander, falsehood and perjury. Privation of these is true fasting.
The Copts, who belong to the Coptic Orthodox Church, observe fasting periods according to the Coptic calendar. In Coptic Orthodox Christianity, fasting is defined as going without water and food from midnight to sunset; after that time, the consumption of water and one vegetarian meal is permitted. The fasting periods of Coptic Christians are exceeded by no other Christian denomination except the Orthodox Tewahedo. Out of the 365 days of the year, Copts often fast between 210 and 240 days. This means that Copts abstain from all animal products for up to two-thirds of each year. Coptic Orthodox fasts have evolved over time to become more lengthy and severe. A lifestyle involving such fasts may have contributed to the pacifist mindset of the Coptic people for centuries. Married couples refrain from sexual relations during Lent "to give themselves time for fasting and prayer".
A Black Fast, also known as a strict fast, is a form of early Christian fasting. Those undertaking a Black Fast consume no food or water during the day and then break the fast after sunset with prayer, as well as water and a vegetarian meal devoid of meat, eggs, dairy products (lacticinia), and alcohol. Christians normatively fasted in this way during Lent prior to the 6th century.
Meat-free days or veggiedays are declared to discourage or prohibit the consumption of meat on certain days of the week. Mondays and Fridays are the most popular days. There are also movements encouraging people giving up meat on a weekly, monthly, or permanent basis.
An Easter basket, also known as a Paschal basket, is a basket used during the Christian Easter season. In different times and places across the various Christian branches, Easter baskets have served different purposes. For adults, Easter baskets may have deep religious significance and be blessed by a priest. In modern times, the baskets may be filled with food or toys and presented to children as gifts. They are also used by children to gather hidden eggs during egg hunts.
Abstinence is the practice of self-enforced restraint from indulging in bodily activities that are widely experienced as giving pleasure. Most frequently, the term refers to sexual abstinence, but it can also mean abstinence from alcohol, drugs, food, or other comforts.
Lent is the solemn Christian religious observance in the liturgical year commemorating the 40 days Jesus spent fasting in the desert and enduring temptation by Satan, according to the Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke, before beginning his public ministry. Lent is usually observed in the Catholic, Lutheran, Moravian, Anglican, United Protestant and Orthodox Christian traditions, among others. Some Anabaptist, Baptist, Methodist, Reformed, and nondenominational Christian churches also observe Lent, although many churches in these traditions do not.
Christian dietary laws vary between denominations. The general dietary restrictions specified for Christians in the New Testament are to "abstain from food sacrificed to idols, from blood, from meat of strangled animals". Some Christian denominations forbid certain foods during periods of fasting, which in some cases may cover half the year and may exclude meat, fish, dairy products, and olive oil.
A Lenten sacrifice is a spiritually motivated voluntary renunciation of a pleasure or luxury that most Christians give up for the observance of Lent, which starts on Ash Wednesday. The tradition of Lent has its roots in Jesus Christ praying and fasting for forty days in the desert according to the gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke. When Lent is over and Easter Sunday arrives, the faithful are able to indulge in what they sacrificed during the Lenten season.
A Lenten supper is a meal that takes place in the evenings to break the day's fast during the Christian liturgical season of Lent, which is widely observed by members of the Catholic, Lutheran, Moravian, Anglican, Methodist, and United Protestant traditions, in addition to certain Reformed denominations.
Shrovetide is the Christian liturgical period prior to the start of Lent that begins on Shrove Saturday and ends at the close of Shrove Tuesday. The season focuses on examination of conscience and repentance before the Lenten fast. It includes Shrove Saturday, Shrove Sunday, Shrove Monday and Shrove Tuesday.
↑ Lee, Yujin; Krawinkel, Michael (2009). "Body composition and nutrient intake of Buddhist vegetarians". Asia Pacific Journal of Clinical Nutrition. 18 (2): 265–271. ISSN0964-7058. PMID19713187.
↑ Bhikkhu, Thanissaro (5 June 2010). "Questions of Skill". Access to Insight. John T. Bullitt. Archived from the original on 13 May 2011. Retrieved 7 June 2011. Each time you're about to act, ask yourself: "This action that I want to do: would it lead to self-harm, to the harm of others, or to both? Is it an unskillful action, with painful consequences, painful results?" If you foresee harm, don't follow through with it.
↑ Harris, Elizabeth J. (7 June 2010). "Violence and Disruption in Society: A Study of the Early Buddhist Texts". Access to Insight. John T. Bullitt. Archived from the original on 6 June 2011. Retrieved 7 June 2011. If you, Rahula, are desirous of doing a deed with the body, you should reflect on the deed with the body, thus: "That deed which I am desirous of doing with the body is a deed of the body that might conduce to the harm of self and that might conduce to the harm of others and that might conduce to the harm of both; this deed of body is unskilled (akusala), its yield is anguish, its result is anguish.
↑ David Grumett and Rachel Muers, Theology on the Menu: Asceticism, Meat and Christian Diet (Routledge, 2010).
↑ Stravinskas, Peter M. J.; Shaw, Russell B. (1 September 1998). Our Sunday Visitor's Catholic Encyclopedia. Our Sunday Visitor. ISBN978-0-87973-669-9. The so-called black fast refers to a day or days of penance on which only one meal is allowed, and that in the evening. The prescription of this type of fast not only forbids the partaking of meats but also of all dairy products, such as eggs, butter, cheese and milk. Wine and other alcoholic beverages are forbidden as well. In short, only bread, water and vegetables form part of the diet for one following such a fast.
↑ Cléir, Síle de (5 October 2017). Popular Catholicism in 20th-Century Ireland: Locality, Identity and Culture. Bloomsbury Publishing. p.101. ISBN978-1-350-02060-3. Catherine Bell outlines the details of fasting and abstinence in a historical context, stating that the Advent fast was usually less severe than that carried out in Lent, which originally involved just one meal a day, not to be eaten until after sunset.
↑ Guéranger, Prosper; Fromage, Lucien (1912). The Liturgical Year: Lent. Burns, Oates & Washbourne. p.8. St. Benedict's rule prescribed a great many fasts, over and above the ecclesiastical fast of Lent; but it made this great distinction between the two: that whilst Lent obliged the monks, as well as the rest of the faithful, to abstain from food till sunset, these monastic fasts allowed the repast to be taken at the hour of None.
↑ Butler, Alban (1774). The Moveable Feasts, Fasts, and Other Annual Observances of the Catholic Church. C. Kiernan. p.257. It is undoubted, that anciently to drink on fasting days was no less forbid than to eat, only in the refection after sunset.
↑ Butler, Alban (1839). The Moveable Feasts, Fasts, and Other Annual Observances of the Catholic Church. Dublin: James Duffy. pp.144–146. The primitive Christians in Lent broke their fast only after sunset, and then usually only with herbs, roots, and bread. At least all were obliged to abstain not only from flesh meat, but also from fish, and whatever had life; also whatever is derived from flesh, as eggs, milk, cheese, butter, according to the ancient canon. Likewise from wine, which in the primitive ages was no less forbidden on all fasting days than the use of flesh meat itself ... Some mitigations were introduced in part of abstinence in the sixth century ... Fish was in the same age allowed, but not of the dearer and more dainty kinds.
1 2 3 4 5 6 Samaan, Moses (9 April 2009). "The Meaning of the Great Lent". Coptic Orthodox Diocese of Los Angeles, Southern California, and Hawaii. Retrieved 10 March 2024. The Church teaches us to fast until sunset. Fish is not allowed during this period. Also married couples should refrain from physical relations to give themselves time for fasting and prayer (1 Cor. 7: 5). We would like to emphasize the importance of the period of strict abstention during fasting. It is refraining from eating and drinking for a period of time, followed by eating vegetarian food. ... True fasting must be accompanied by abstention from food and drink until sunset as designated by the Church.
1 2 Buchanan, Colin (27 February 2006). Historical Dictionary of Anglicanism. Scarecrow Press. p.182. ISBN978-0-8108-6506-8. In the 1662 Book of Common Prayer, there is a list of "Days of Fasting, or Abstinence", consisting of the 40 days of Lent, the ember days, the three rogation days (the Monday to Wednesday following the Sunday after Ascension Day), and all Fridays in the year (except Christmas, if it falls on a Friday).
1 2 Hynes, Mary Ellen (1993). Companion to the Calendar: A Guide to the Saints and Mysteries of the Christian Calendar. Liturgy Training Publications. p.12. ISBN978-1-56854-011-5.
1 2 George Leo Haydock (2015). The New Testament. Aeterna Press. To fast 40 days without being hungry, was certainly far above the strength of man, but to be hungry at any time is inconsistent with God; for which reason our blessed Saviour, that he might not manifestly declare his divinity, was afterwards hungry. S. Hil. -- On this example, as well as that of Moses and Elias, who also fasted 40 days, the fast of Lent was instituted by the apostles, and is of necessity to be observed according to the general consent of the ancient Fathers. S. Jerom (ep. liv. ad Marcel.) says, we fast 40 days, or make one Lent in a year, according to the tradition of the apostles.
↑ Johnson, Lawrence J. (14 July 2017). Worship in the Early Church: Volume 3: An Anthology of Historical Sources. Liturgical Press. ISBN978-0-8146-6328-8.
1 2 3 Gassmann, Günther; Oldenburg, Mark W. (10 October 2011). Historical Dictionary of Lutheranism. Scarecrow Press. p.229. ISBN978-0-8108-7482-4. In many Lutheran churches, the Sundays during the Lenten season are called by the first word of their respective Latin Introitus (with the exception of Palm/Passion Sunday): Invocavit, Reminiscere, Oculi, Laetare, and Judica. Many Lutheran church orders of the 16th century retained the observation of the Lenten fast, and Lutherans have observed this season with a serene, earnest attitude. Special days of eucharistic communion were set aside on Maundy Thursday and Good Friday.
1 2 3 Ripley, George; Dana, Charles Anderson (1883). The American Cyclopaedia: A Popular Dictionary for General Knowledge. D. Appleton and Company. p.101. Archived from the original on 28 April 2017. Retrieved 14 November 2019. The Protestant Episcopal, Lutheran, and Reformed churches, as well as many Methodists, observe the day by fasting and special services.
1 2 Hatch, Jane M. (1978). The American Book of Days. Wilson. p.163. ISBN978-0-8242-0593-5. Special religious services are held on Ash Wednesday by the Church of England, and in the United States by Episcopal, Lutheran, and some other Protestant churches. The Episcopal Church prescribes no rules concerning fasting on Ash Wednesday, which is carried out according to members' personal wishes; however, it recommends a measure of fasting and abstinence as a suitable means of marking the day with proper devotion. Among Lutherans as well, there are no set rules for fasting, although some local congregations may advocate this form of penitence in varying degrees.
1 2 3 "Lent: Daniel Fast Gains Popularity". HuffPost. Religion News Service. February 7, 2013. Retrieved December 30, 2018. In some cases, entire churches do the Daniel Fast together during Lent. The idea strikes a chord in Methodist traditions, which trace their heritage to John Wesley, a proponent of fasting. Leaders in the African Methodist Episcopal Church have urged churchgoers to do the Daniel Fast together, and congregations from Washington to Pennsylvania and Maryland have joined in. For the fourth consecutive year, St. Mark's United Methodist Church in Charlotte, N.C., will observe Lent this year with a churchwide Daniel Fast. Young adults in the congregation tend to keep the fast more rigorously than older ones, according to Pastor Paul Milton.
↑ "40 Day Journey & Daniel Fast". Enon Tabernacle Baptist Church. 17 February 2021. Archived from the original on 13 May 2021. Retrieved 28 March 2022. Our family and friends are encouraged to take this journey during the season of Lent. This is a time we as Christians mature spiritually the 40 days before Resurrection Sunday. The Daniel Fast begins Ash Wednesday, February 17, 2021 and ends on Resurrection Sunday, April 4, 2021. Our common practice is 6 days on and 1 day off.
↑ Zaidi, Hiyah (24 February 2022). "What is Ash Wednesday 2023? When is day, Lent meaning, what is mass - is it connected to Shrove Tuesday". National World. Retrieved 14 March 2024. Some Christians choose to fast where Western Christians traditionally break the Lenten fast at sunset also known as the Black Fast. In countries such as India and Pakistan, some Christians fast until sunset on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday with some manner of fasting within the 40 days of Lent.
↑ "The Lighthouse"(PDF). Christ the Savior Orthodox Church. 2018. p.3. Archived from the original(PDF) on 2023-02-16. Retrieved 2022-08-23.
↑ Morrow, Maria C. (4 November 2016). Sin in the Sixties. Catholic University of America Press. p.121. ISBN978-0-8132-2898-3. This petition was granted by Pope Leo XIII in a document entitled Indultum quadragesimale, which permitted the faithful in the United States the use of meat, eggs, and milk products at all meals on Sundays during Lent, and at the principal meal on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturdays, excepting Saturday of Ember week and Holy Week. It also allowed for the use of eggs and milk products at the evening collation daily during Lent and at the principal meal when meat was not allowed. Indultum quadragesimale further allowed a small piece of bread in the morning with a beverage, the possibility of taking the principal meal at noon or in the evening, and the use of lard and meat drippings in the preparation of foods.
↑ Devine, Arthur (1897). Convent Life. M.H. Gill & Son. p.245.
↑ Gudorf, Christine E. (1 January 2013). Comparative Religious Ethics: Everyday Decisions for Our Everyday Lives. Fortress Press. pp.21–23. ISBN978-1-4514-2621-2.
↑ Connell, Francis; Sharrock, David (1952). Baltimore Catechism. Benzinger Brothers. p.167. ISBN978-1-387-58140-5. From the general laws of the Church, we know the following regulations: first, abstinence binds on all Fridays; second, fast and abstinence bind on Ash Wednesday, the Fridays and Saturdays of Lent, the Ember Days, and the vigils of Pentecost, the Immaculate conception, All saints (see footnote, p. 302), and Christmas. The Ember Days are twelve in number, three in each season, namely the Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday after December 13; after the first Sunday of Lent; after Pentecost; and after September 14; third, fast binds on all the other days of Lent.
1 2 3 4 Beard, Steve (30 January 2012). "The spiritual discipline of fasting". Good News Magazine. United Methodist Church.
1 2 Crowther, Jonathan (1815). A Portraiture of Methodism: Or, The History of the Wesleyan Methodists. T. Blanshard. pp.251, 257.
↑ McKnight, Scot (2010). Fasting: The Ancient Practices. Thomas Nelson. p.88. ISBN978-1-4185-7613-4. John Wesley, in his Journal, wrote on Friday, August 17, 1739, that "many of our society met, as we had appointed, at one in the afternoon and agreed that all members of our society should obey the Church to which we belong by observing 'all Fridays in the year' as 'days of fasting and abstinence.'
↑ Synan, Vinson (25 August 1997). The Holiness-Pentecostal Tradition: Charismatic Movements in the Twentieth Century. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing. p.24. ISBN978-0-8028-4103-2.
↑ Smith, Larry D. (September 2008). "Progressive Sanctification"(PDF). God's Revivalist and Bible Advocate. 120 (6). Archived(PDF) from the original on 10 July 2017. Retrieved 18 June 2018. Principles which underlie our Wesleyan/holiness heritage include such commitments as unquestioned scriptural authority; classical orthodox theology; identity with the one holy and apostolic church; warmhearted evangelical experience; love perfected in sanctifying grace; careful, disciplined living; structured spiritual formation, fidelity to the means of grace; and responsible witness both in public and in private—all of which converge in holiness of heart and life, which for us Methodists will always be the "central idea of Christianity." These are bedrock essentials, and without them we shall have no heritage at all. Though we may neglect them, these principles never change. But our prudentials often do. Granted, some of these are so basic to our DNA that to give them up would be to alter the character of our movement. John Wesley, for example, believed that the prudentials of early Methodism were so necessary to guard its principles that to lose the first would be also to lose the second. His immediate followers should have listened to his caution, as should we. For throughout our history, foolish men have often imperiled our treasure by their brutal assault against the walls which our founders raised to contain them. Having said this, we must add that we have had many other prudentials less significant to our common life which have come and gone throughout our history. For instance, weekly class meetings, quarterly love feasts, and Friday fast days were once practiced universally among us, as was the appointment of circuit-riding ministers assisted by "exhorters" and "local preachers."
↑ Epps, David (20 February 2018). "Facts about fasting". The Citizen. Archived from the original on 17 March 2018. Retrieved 16 March 2018. In Methodism, fasting is considered one of the "Works of Piety." The Discipline of the Wesleyan Methodist Church required Methodists to fast on certain days. Historically, Methodist clergy are required to fast on Wednesdays, in remembrance of the betrayal of Christ, and on Fridays, in remembrance of His crucifixion and death.
↑ Earley, Dave (2012). Pastoral Leadership Is...: How to Shepherd God's People with Passion and Confidence. B&H Publishing Group. p.103. ISBN978-1-4336-7384-9.
1 2 3 Gentilcore, David (19 November 2015). Food and Health in Early Modern Europe: Diet, Medicine and Society, 1450–1800. Bloomsbury Publishing. p.125. ISBN978-1-4725-2842-1.
↑ Albala, Ken. 2003. Food in early modern Europe. P.200
↑ Pfatteicher, Philip H. (1990). Commentary on the Lutheran Book of Worship: Lutheran Liturgy in Its Ecumenical Context. Augsburg Fortress Publishers. pp.223–244, 260. ISBN978-0-8006-0392-2. The Good Friday fast became the principal fast in the calendar, and even after the Reformation in Germany many Lutherans who observed no other fast scrupulously kept Good Friday with strict fasting.
↑ Jacobs, Henry Eyster; Haas, John Augustus William (1899). The Lutheran Cyclopedia. Scribner. p.110. Archived from the original on 9 April 2010. Retrieved 14 November 2019. By many Lutherans Good Friday is observed as a strict fast. The lessons on Ash Wednesday emphasize the proper idea of the fast. The Sundays in Lent receive their names from the first words of their Introits in the Latin service, Invocavit, Reminiscere, Oculi, Lcetare, Judica.
↑ An explanation of Luther's Small Catechism: The Sacrament of the Eucharist, section IV: Who receives the Sacrament worthily? (LCMS). Retrieved 15 October 2009.
↑ Hambrick-Stowe, Charles E. (1 April 2013). The Practice of Piety: Puritan Devotional Disciplines in Seventeenth-Century New England. UNC Press Books. p.100. ISBN978-1-4696-0004-8.
↑ Emmanuel Sivan. "Sunni Radicalism in the Middle East and the Iranian Revolution". International Journal of Middle East Studies, Vol.21, No.1. (February 1989), pp.1–30
↑ Sahih Bukhari Book31 Hadith 222, Book55 Hadith609, and Book58 Hadith279, ; Sahih Muslim Book 6 Hadith 2518, 2519, 2520
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