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Manchester Evening News
Manchester Evening News
National
Fionnula Hainey

Why do we eat fish on Good Friday?

Chocolate Easter eggs and hot cross buns might be the foods we most associate with this time of year - but millions of people also opt to eat fish on one particular day over the long weekend.

On Good Friday, it's traditional to avoid meat and serve up fish - often fish and chips - for tea instead. But where does the tradition come from?

As expected, the reason we eat fish on Good Friday has deeply religious roots. Christians believe that Jesus sacrificed himself on the cross on Good Friday and so avoid eating meat as a mark of respect and remembrance.

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The Marine Stewardship Council says: "On Good Friday, it's tradition to eat fish rather than meat. According to Christians, Jesus sacrificed his flesh on what is now known as Good Friday. This is why traditionally, people abstain from meaty flesh on Good Friday.

"Fish is viewed as a different kind of flesh, and so is favoured over meat on Good Friday. Additionally, fish shapes were used by Christians to identify each other, and it is believed that many followers of Jesus were fishermen."

In addition, meat was seen as a delicacy in ancient cultures, and animals would not be slaughtered for food unless there was something to celebrate. Fish is not seen as meat by Christians because Church law specifically states "land animals".

While meat was seen as celebratory and associated with feasts, fish was seen as an everyday food - a distinction that is not really reflected in today's eating habits.

And it's not just on Good Friday that you might find Christians avoiding meat. Some people refrain from eating meat on any Friday of the year, while others will only eat meat on Fridays outside of Lent.

The Catholic law of abstinence says that Catholics aged 14 and older refrain from eating meat on Fridays during Lent, including on Good Friday. As well as this, Catholics aged 18 to 59 fast on both Ash Wednesday and Good Friday - a rule within the Roman Catholic church that means you can only consume only one full meal, or two smaller meals in the day.

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