Giving it Up for Lent

February 16, 2026 ~ purplesage41 ~ 1 Comment

I grew up Protestant in a largely Catholic town. The Catholics looked like they were having more fun. Some of them went to mass every day, and they had lots of special days. One of the practices that struck my fancy was giving up something for the forty days of Lent. All my friends would talk about what to give up. Come Ash Wednesday, they would get ashes on their foreheads and commit themselves to some sacrifice. Usually it was something like snacks, or ice cream. They got Sundays off.

My fascination with this exotic religion, compared to my quiet Congregationalism, faded in time, but the idea of giving something up for Lent did not. Catholicism was not a requirement for this particular spiritual practice. Many years I would give up potato chips, or chocolate. Later as an adult I would give up wine. I also added a positive dimension, to do something in honor of the season of reflection. I had a lot of windows, even if they didn’t quite add up to the forty required. I washed one every day. The glass doors didn’t stay clean, so they filled in the missing days.

This year Lent begins with Ash Wednesday on February 19^th. I am returning to my giving up practice, but to add depth and meaning to it, The practice has to be hard and must serve some greater good. Being an economist, I think of my spending and investing and charitable giving as ways to embody my commitment to social justice in all its forms. I am unhappy that some of the places I shop have enabled antidemocratic behavior by our president, so I explored what firms might be an appropriate target.

I found lists on the top enablers internet, but quickly eliminated those I have no connection to.them. Don’t own their stock, don’t shop there much. Only three were consumer-oriented. My candidate list narrowed to three: amazon, Walmart, and Home depot. I patronize Lowe’s rather than Home Depot because it’s closer, so no meaningful potential for action there. That left me amazon and WalMart.

I shop a lot at amazon, for books, clothing, household items, gifts. It won’t be easy, but if it were easy, why bother? So that’s my commitment. No shopping at amazon. Even on Sundays.

You may not find Lent appealing, or amazon as your choice. but let this blog invite you to consider what firms you are subsidizing in their antidemocratic public policy. Not all humans are primarily self-interested, but most business corporations are. If enough people boycott them and let the firm know what and why, we of the comfortable class (as opposed to the oligarch class and the barely hanging on class) can use our spending power (or withhold it) to make a difference. If you want to take a second and third step, do write the company you are giving up for Lent and why. And encourage your friends to do likewise. Together, we make a difference.

A Torrent of Holidays

February 5, 2026February 5, 2026 ~ purplesage41 ~ Leave a comment

I always like to write about holidays. (A gentle reminder of my book Economics Takes a Holiday!) February began with Imbolc and Groundhog Day, pauses for Superbowl Sunday, then cruises on through Mardi Gras and Ash Wednesday, Valentine’s Day, and Presidents’ Day. Easter and President’s Day are moveable feasts, especially Easter This year Edster falls on April 5th, which moved Mardi Gras and Ash Wednesday back into mid-February. President’s Day always falls between the 15th and the 21st of February, whichever is a Monday. It is also not the ever the birthday of either of the two presidents it was created to honor, Washington and Lincoln. Fortunately it is not leap year, or the 29^th would be Sadie Hawkins Day.

This confluence of holidays calls for exceptionally rapid costume changes of emotional attitude. The Superbowl is just six days after groundhog Day and six days before Valentine’s day, eight days before Presidents’ Day, and nine days before Mardi Gras, followed immediately by Ash Wednesday and Lent. two days before Mardi gras, Valentine’s Day coincided with Ash Wednesday, and before we knew it, Presidents Day. A quick change of pace from a fast-paced, loud, noisy football game watched by millions to a religious holiday marking a season of repentance and reflection interspersed with a celebration of romantic love and ending on a sharp reminder that we are in a very intense and perhaps even ominous election year. From crocuses to Dust Thou art and to dust you shall return to national politics is a lot for our shortest month. And if you are Chines, you have a New Year’s Day in the mix!

Unlike the Christmas holidays, each one of these holidays calls for a different kind of emotional response. Valentine’s Day is lighthearted and sentimental, hearts and chocolate and cards, the only one that calls for spending money. Presidents’ Day is largely an excuse for a day off with banks and post offices closed and most places, no school. Mardi Gras is the final celebratory fling (the carnival, literally meaning farewell to meat) before Ash Wednesday. This holiday calls observant Christians to the austere penitential six weeks of Lent. Even those of us whose faith traditions didn’t make a big deal out of Lent often feel compelled to join our high church comrades in giving something up for Lent. Nothing like a holiday the celebrates self-denial. By March 1^st, (Internatioanal Friendship Day, we will be in for a good rest with no significant holidays till Saint Patrick’s Day and Ostara, the pagan name for the vernal lequinox.

All these holidays have a common element, however, and that element is hope. Valentine’s Day was originally a Roman holiday. The name of the month, February, refers to the fever of love. The earth is preparing to be fertile and humans are willing to go along with it by celebrating romantic love, even if it is only by watching the latest season of Bridgerton on Netflix. Renewal of plant and animal life as we all start to emerge from winter’s hibernation is a source of hope. As the weather warms, we can spend more time outdoors—walking, gardening, coffee on the patio. SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder) is banished until November.

Elections sometimes run on hope, sometimes on fear, most often (this year included) on a mixture of the two. In a polarized nation, both the hopes and the fears are more intense. Theologian Joanna Macy reminds us that hope is useless unless it is active hope, a spur to invest our efforts in seeking out those candidates who best embody our vision of how our state, local, and federal governments should carry out that visionary hope. We can also hope for the future of our planet by engaging in sustainable lifestyles and inquiring of candidates what they propose to do about growth management and air and water pollution and global warming.

Finally, Mardi Gras and Lent are about letting go, turning one’s back on self-indulgence after one last fling and instead making an effort to cultivate the spirit. (In medieval times, it was also a way to stretch the food supply in the final months before spring crops began to come in.) It is long enough to change, short enough to see the light of Easter at the end of the Lenten tunnel. Just a manageable chunk of time to sustain the hope that by Easter, the holiday of renewal and rebirth, we will be reborn as better, wiser, more patient and less greedy and gluttonous than we were six weeks ago. That’s a tall order, but we have to start somewhere.

AS we zip through these back-to-back holidays, let us celebrate hope. Especially the hope that we have transformed into the practice of active hopefulness as we work toward bringing our hopes to fruition. In summer, this season of hope is followed by the season of joy, in autumn the season of wisdom, and in winter a season of rest and recovery. May the hopeful and challenging rhythms of the earth resonate in your body, mind, and soul this spring holiday season.

A Torrent of Holidays

February 16, 2024 ~ purplesage41 ~ Leave a comment

I always like to write about holidays. (A gentle reminder of my book Economics Takes A Holiday!) February began with a couple of starter presidential primaries and Groundhog Day on the 2nd (historically celebrated by spring housecleaning), paused for Superbowl Sunday, then cruised on through Mardi Gras and Ash Wednesday, Valentine’s Day on the 14^th, and Presidents’ Day on the 19th. Easter and President’s Day are moveable feasts, especially Easter which falls March 31st, which moved Mardi Gras and Ash Wednesday back into mid-February. President’s Day always falls between the 15th and the 21st of February, whichever is a Monday. It is also not the ever the birthday of either of the two presidents it was created to honor, Washington and Lincoln.

This confluence of holidays calls for exceptionally rapid costume changes of emotional attitude. The Superbowl was just two days before Mardi gras, Valentine’s Day coincided with Ash Wednesday, and before we knew it, there was Presidents Day. A quick change of pace from a fast-paced, loud, noisy football game watched by millions to a religious holiday marking a season of repentance and reflection interspersed with a celebration of romantic love and ending on a sharp reminder that we are in a very intense and perhaps even ominous presidential election year. From crocuses to Dust Thou art and to dust you shall return to Super Tuesday presidential primaries in just one short 29-day month.

Unlike the Christmas holidays, each one called for a different kind of emotional response. Valentine’s Day is lighthearted and sentimental, hearts and chocolates and flowers and cards. Presidents’ Day invites us to be patriotic and closes the banks and the Post Office, and in many places, the schools. There is also the invitation to shop at the Presidents’ Day sales, spending some of that green stuff with their pictures on the front. Mardi Gras is the final celebratory fling (the carnival, literally meaning farewell to meat) before Ash Wednesday. This holiday calls observant Christians to the austere penitential six weeks of Lent. Even those of us whose faith traditions didn’t make a big deal out of Lent often feel compelled to join our high church comrades in giving something up for Lent. Nothing like a holiday the celebrates self-denial. By Tuesday we will be in for a good rest with no significant holidays till Saint Patrick’s Day four weeks later. Whew!

All these holidays have a common element, however, and that element is hope. Valentine’s Day which was originally a Roman holiday. The name of the month, February, refers to the fever of love. The earth is preparing to be fertile and humans are willing to go along with it by celebrating romantic love, even if it is only by watching reruns of Bridgerton on Netflix. Renewal of plant and animal life as we all start to emerge from winter’s hibernation is a source of hope. As the weather warms, we can spend more time outdoors—walking, gardening, coffee on the patio. SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder) is banished until November.

Presidential elections sometimes run on hope, sometimes on fear, most often (this year included) on a mixture of the two. In a polarized nation, both the hopes and the fears are more intense. Theologian Joanna Macy reminds us that hope is useless unless it is active hope, a spur to invest our efforts in seeking out those candidates who best embody our vision of how our state, local, and federal governments should carry out that visionary hope. We can also hope for the future of our planet by engaging in sustainable lifestyles and inquiring of candidates what they propose to do about growth management and air and water pollution and global warming.

Finally, Mardi Gras and Lent are about letting go, turning one’s back on self-indulgence after one last fling and instead make an effort at cultivating the spirit. (In medieval times, it was also a way to stretch the food supply in the final months before spring crops began to come in.) It is long enough to change, short enough to see the light of Easter at the end of the Lenten tunnel. Just a manageable chunk of time to sustain the hope that by Easter, the holiday of renewal and rebirth, we will be reborn as better, wiser, more patient and less greedy and gluttonous than we were six weeks ago. That’s a tall order, but we have to start somewhere.