Every major religion has some sort of fast. In the 1960s, I grew up as a Catholic and the Lenten ritual of giving up something (for me it was sugar in my tea and coffee) and fasting was a normal part of the year. We also used to fast one hour before Mass so we could receive the sacrament of Holy Communion on an empty stomach. No meat was allowed on Fridays (which later morphed into only the Fridays of Lent). Here we examine the traditional fasts of major religions as well the newer...
16 January 2019
by Catherine Saxelby