This is a hot button topic in our mixed-marriage home--so much so that it will make me de-lurk! I was raised MS Lutheran, so other than fasting on Good Friday, we had no real restictions during lent. And yes, my mom would bake hot cross buns, some without citron for me. My husband was raised Roman Catholic, and followed the whole restriction regimen during lent. When we married I "crossed over" to Catholicism, mostly because being a Lutheran, I had no major theological issues that were deal breakers in the course of my worship life, and hey, God knows my heart better than anyone. Also the area in which we live (outside Philadelphia) has got to be the most homogeneous area in which I have ever lived (grew up in NY), and I felt it was better for my children to be raised in the Catholic church where their peers went to build a sense of church as a community. Back on topic: Lent arrives and the discussion begins in our home. I strongly believe there is a huge gap between the letter of the law and the spirit of the law. A salmon steak on Friday is not doing without. In fact, pound for pound, seafood is pricier than most meats. I also frankly prefer fish, and seafood of any kind, to meat. My opinion is that making Hamburger Helper (sorry, Sandy!) is more in keeping with the point of abstinance. For the past few years, I have been opting to make fishsticks, tuna casserole and the like during lent. This year I have come up with, I think, the solution. Each Friday in Lent our (meatless) meal will come from a region of the world where people have less, hopefully acting as a starting point for dinnertime discussion of how we can perhaps be an instrument of change in the world. Tonight for instance we will be "travelling" to Guatamala, a country we have in fact been to, and have seen how poverty and civil unrest have affected her people. A long post, I realize, but I am hoping that maybe this is a tradition worth spreading around, beyond one's religious beliefs or a period on a calendar.