Are you giving up for Lent this year, or have we made enough sacrifices?

I could certainly do with giving up snacks and chocolate during the week anyway. Especially the M&S jam doughnuts dh picks up rather too often....
But I probably won’t. ?
I have a small glass of wine (in one of those old fashioned wine glasses that really were small) while cooking the dinner nearly every night, and I’m not giving that up, either.

No definitely not! I think I’ll be forgiven ?

Should give up smoking, but if I'm forced or told to do something I'll do the opposite I'm a hopeless case !
Don't drink though which I maintain is worse---well I would, wouldn't I ?

I’ve never seen the point of just giving up for the sake of giving up. Giving up so that you can give the money you would have spent to the needy, surely that’s the point.

I’m really not spending much anyway. I could give up new books on the Kindle. But then I’d only buy them later. Honestly I don’t know what I could cut out.

Why do people give up for Lent? What is the origin of the custom?

I`m giving up giving up.

Because Jesus spent 40 days fasting in the wilderness.

But fasting and donating the money to the needy is part of many religions.

I don’t think there’s much left to give up at the moment! Also I’m a strict veggie, T total, non smoker, don’t eat sweet stuff, no wife swapping.... did you say how boring?

Nope, I’m not giving up anything ?

blossoming, I often use lent to try to improve something about myself.
I try especially hard not to be picky, or irritable - or not to zone out when x person is boring, to quietly do something regularly to help someone (over what I'd usually do).
Often if you can do something for 40 days it becomes embedded.

Fasting to feed others is traditional.
Maybe, now so many are particularly needy we should give 40days of food to a food bank...

Thank you Peasblossom and NotSpaghetti. I like your idea NS, patience with others is something there should be more of.

Hm. Last Lent I ate Veganly for the first time and, in fact, continued to the end of the year. I am currently eating a mixed diet again - tho not a vast amount of anything as I'm following the Fast800 diet (during the vegan nine months my BP and cholesterol came down to healthy readings but my blood sugar shot back up again).

One year I gave up television but I don't think I could do that again.

It's not that I don't think I Should give up something - as has been said, the obligation is to do something good for other people with the time or money saved - I just can't think of anything at the minute!!

I think we have given up enough but think you are spot on NS and will try to do that as it helps others not just ourselves.

I have never given anything up for Lent, never seen the point.

Instead I have tried to do positive things, more random acts of kindness, give to charity, etc. Tried to change myself and the world around me for the better.

Donating to food banks is a good one, NS. I shall try to remember this year, although I generally give to them.

I wasn’t aware that people still did this.

Oh yes!!! And they tell you about it!

I don't grandMattie ' except here of course where it's the purpose of the thread!
?

Good, NS , at least you’re not a sanctimonious prig like some of the people I meet.

We could give up gransnet for lent!

I wouldn't though

Not sure there is anything left to give up!!!!

I’m going to aim to halve my current screen time - I feel guilty every time I check out the daily figures on my phone.

At the risk of sounding like a sanctimonious prig, I’ll try to use the time saved more productively.

Timetogo2016, that was first thought.

EllanVannin

Should give up smoking, but if I'm forced or told to do something I'll do the opposite I'm a hopeless case !
Don't drink though which I maintain is worse---well I would, wouldn't I ?

That made me laugh EV

My Mum used to smoke twice as many on No Smoking Day!

My daughter and i used to give up sweets or chocolate during Lent, never managed both, but the number of people who used to enquire why we didn't do both , or point out that we should be cutting out sugar entirely. Eventually I did manage it, due I am convinced , to my daily statin.
I don't think we were sanctimonious prigs, and we used to put the money we thought we had saved in a variety of charity collecting boxes.
I like the idea of giving food to food banks though.