Allira
M0nica
Most religious practices have their origins in practicality and I think the main reason people abstained from eggs in lent was because it was the time of year when eggs were not eaten so that hens were able to sit on their eggs until they hatched so that there was a another crop of chicks around at the start of the better weather giving them a head start to grow into strong hens to lay more eggs or be ready to eat by Autumn.
Every day's a school day on GN!
another reason I read for eating pancakes is that some people ate no animal products in Lent so used up their milk, butter and eggs in pancakes on Shrove Tuesday.
You are right Allira but behind the religious observance is the practical one. By making it a religious observance you can ensure that people follow the rules.
If they follow the rules the whole community benefits from the availability of hens and chicken, for meat and more eggs during the rest of the year - and spring born chicks have the best chance of survival and thriving.
Spring is the 'hungry season', when food saved and preserved the previous summer and Autumn is running low and what is left needs to be set aside for the new season, seeds are for sowing, the cattle who have survived the winter need to breed, as do chickens etc.
If you want a season for fasting and abstinence, what better than the hungry season when you want to preserve everything left to you to use to ensure a good harvest in the autumn and th best way to do this is to discourage the human population from eating too much.
As I said, all religions are syncretic and have their roots way back in human development when survival was totally dependent on a good weather in season, good crops, and with no understanding of what brought the various seasons, the sun and the rain, religions evolved who, as they would another person, asked for help and offered gifts and respect in exchange for good things.
