Lent: American style

dinnertime on a Lenten Friday, time to sit down to a nice plate of... fish? NO-- the traditional Friday food of Lent is actually cheese pizza. And what exactly is Lent? When explaining Lent, first determine who your audience is-- Western or "not". For those not coming from a western background, Lent is most easily explained in terms of Ramdan-- period of fasting, almsgiving, very happy at the end-- but less strict (in practice at least). For Westerners, Lent is basically the Catholic's 2nd chance at fulfilling New Year's resolutions of weightloss. The main difference is there are serious spiritual consequences if you reneg on your Lenten penance.