AboutLaura Trauth Expertise PhD program in History. A more conservative Catholic institution, the school is also less self-contained. This means it has less of a sense of family and community, but also that it is connected with the nation`s capitol and all the academic, artistic, and social resources that DC provides. The History and Medieval Studies grad programs have a core faculty of dedicated and talented scholars who encourage students to pursue original research and analyse current scholarship.
Question You said fasting was almost 2000 years old but you did not say why Fish were allowed? No eggs but fish? I can't believe costs would have been a criteria if you offer all up to God.
I read where fish were extremely prolific and was related to the Greek Venus. I further read where the Scandinavian goddess Venus name was Freya from which we derive the day Friday when fish were eaten in her celebration.
I didn't read why your said Friday and not Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday for Fasting.
Just interested in Fish, Friday, not fasting and when.
Sincerely,
Ben
Answer Hi Ben,
My apologies for the delay in answering your question - we've had thunderstorms here every day this week that have kept our satellite web connection from working!
Friday as a fast day is because of Good Friday - the day that Jesus of Nazareth was crucified. The Early Church saw every Sunday as a commemoration of the resurrection and every Friday as a commemoration of the crucifixion. So every Friday therefore was a day of penance, prayer, and mourning. Often people abstained from food completely. Among many Catholics that's still the custom during Friday's of Lent those days.
Exactly what was allowed when fasting did vary throughout the Middle Ages. Some people felt that eggs and cheese were fine. Others felt that if you're going to show your mourning by abstaining from "flesh" (what they called beef, pork, or fowl), you should also logically abstain from eating the products of those animals. For more on all the variations of what's allowed when fasting and how it's changed over time, take a look at this article from the Catholic Encyclopedia: http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/09152a.htm
Fish is symbolically important in Catholicism because of several reasons. First is the Miracle of Loaves and Fishes that Jesus was said to have multiplied to feed the people. Also, the Greek word Ichthys (this Wikipedia page has a good picture of the Greek letters, which I can't include in my post here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ichthys ) has the same letters as the first letter of the words “Jesus Christ Son of God and Savior” in Greek. The fish was a secret symbol among Christians before the religion was legalized in the Roman Empire and is still often used as a Christian symbol today. Fish are also practical because unlike eggs they can be salted and preserved for months then soaked in water, washed and eaten. They could be shipped across medieval Europe and kept for the entire winter. Cheese also keeps well, although not AS well as salted fish, and cheese was indeed sometimes allowed during fasts. Bread is also a food that can be eaten during fasts of course, and it too is symbolic to Christians (and as stored wheat, keeps well too).
Which was more important in the formation of these important rituals, practicality or symbolism? The symbolism of the allowed foods gives the ritual its meaning, of course. If those foods weren’t available, the rituals couldn’t have been practiced. But then if those foods weren’t available, they probably wouldn't have been a part of the Roman/Biblical world of the New Testament to begin with!
