Do United Methodist Church members really eat ham during Easter?
score:6
I think you may be confusing the terms a little. There's a simple solution to your question.
Easter is the joyful celebration of Christ's resurrection.
Lent is the forty-day* period leading up to Easter. It is a time of penitence and fasting.
Many Christians observing the Western-style liturgical calendar (this probably includes your friend) fast in some way—often from meat, if possible—during Lent. This fast is broken on Easter, when lots of rich foods are eaten. Ham is a traditional Easter meal in the West.
When you understand this aspect of the calendar, it actually makes a lot of sense to eat meat on Easter.
You can read more about the church calendar at Ken Collins's web site.
(*) You might notice that Lent is actually longer than forty days. The reason for this is a bit detailed and dry, so read only if you're curious!
The week before Easter is referred to as Holy Week; it begins with Palm Sunday (the commemoration of Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem). Holy Week contains Maundy Thursday (commemorating the Lord’s Supper) and Good Friday (commemorating the day of Jesus’ crucifixion). As you can imagine, this week is especially sombre and penitential.
In the Eastern church, Holy Week is not considered part of the forty days of Lent; they last forty days beginning from Clean Monday, with the last day on a Friday. The day after this is Lazarus Saturday, followed by Palm Sunday and Holy Week.
In the West, Holy Week got counted as part of Lent. The extra days are accounted for by making Sundays not count as full fasting days. Lent is then two days shorter than in the East, beginning on Ash Wednesday. Not counting Sundays, there are forty days from Ash Wednesday till Easter.
In both traditions, the season of Easter lasts 49 days till Pentecost. Fasting is not encouraged—in fact, it may be generally prohibited, especially in the first week of Easter, which is called Bright Week.
Upvote:0
I grew up in the Methodist church and we were required to make a sacrifice during Lent. It doesn't have to be meat. It doesn't even have to be food. But, it should be a real sacrifice. It's a personal commitment that you make to God. Extra study and prayer is also encouraged.
Upvote:2
This page (Lent 101 from the UMC) gives a guide to Lent from a Methodist perspective. It is very similar to other protestant traditions.
Lent is a time for fasting and prayer, but fasting means different things to different people/denominations.
From the page I linked to above:
FASTING: Some people have been known to go without food for days. But that's not the only way to fast. You can fast by cutting out some of the things in your life that distract you from God. Some Christians use the whole 40 days to fast from candy, tv, soft drinks, cigarettes or meat as a way to purify their bodies and lives. You might skip one meal a day and use that time to pray instead. Or you can give up some activity like worry or reality tv to spend time outside enjoying GodÕs creation. What do you need to let go of or "fast" from in order to focus on God? What clutters your calendar and life? How can you simplify your life in terms of what you eat, wear or do? Some people have been known to go without food for days. But that's not the only way to fast. You can fast by cutting out some of the things in your life that distract you from God. Some Christians use the whole 40 days to fast from candy, tv, soft drinks, cigarettes or meat as a way to purify their bodies and lives. You might skip one meal a day and use that time to pray instead. Or you can give up some activity like worry or reality tv to spend time outside enjoying GodÕs creation. What do you need to let go of or "fast" from in order to focus on God? What clutters your calendar and life? How can you simplify your life in terms of what you eat, wear or do?
With that definition of "fasting" you can give up anything. It's not about just giving up meats. Therefore, there's no reason not to eat Ham during Easter or Lent. For Methodists, as with most Protestant denominations, how we celebrate Easter and lent are a very personal choice, rather than a rigid, prescribed, dictated way of celebrating.
There is no prohibition against eating meat, whether ham or any other kind, so if your classmate ate ham for Easter, it's really nothing to be surprised about.
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