After the drunken madness and overexposure of body parts in New Orleans last week, many people are calming down to reflect on the spiritual time of Lent.
At the end of Fat Tuesday, New Orleans clears everyone out of Bourbon Street and cleans the streets in time for the first day of Lent.
Beverly Gianne, vice president of the Communication and Public Relations Department in New Orleans, said the city does this for two main reasons: cleanliness and pride.
“Cleaning is mainly a part of police crowd control and just cleaning up all the trash, but it’s also a tradition to clean up for Ash Wednesday because people in Louisiana put an emphasis on Lent,” Gianne said.
Many people across the country, especially in Louisiana, celebrate a time before Easter in which people consider their relationship with God and become encouraged to better their lives through prayer and tests of willpower.
Shawn Anglim, a pastor at United Methodist Campus Ministry, said many Methodist churches do not offer an Ash Wednesday service, but the church on campus had two.
“We encourage Lenten discipline,” Anglim said. “We need to be purposeful about something and get spiritual renewal through doing purposeful things.”
Anglim said some students at the church have done things such as reading psalms at service, fasting from food one day a week or giving up candy. He said one student is participating in “40 days of Lent” consisting of a book of daily assignments giving suggestions of good deeds.
“It might say to give $2 dollars to a local charity or writing to someone about water conservation,” Anglim said.
He said Lent tells people to take a look at what they are doing in their lives and alerts them to be attentive to the way they live each day.
“This year I’m spending more time with students because I have less contact with them,” Anglim said. “I’ve been very deliberate about not letting the administration side of the ministry take away from the ministry.”
Amber Mann, a mass communication junior who is participating in the “40 days of Lent” program, said she learned more about it through simpleliving.org.
“Its purpose is to combat commercialization of Christian holidays and to take a step back and realize the indulgences we have,” Mann said.
Mann, a Baptist, said this is her first time to participate in the holiday, and she decided to do so after researching it.
She said the program is not very challenging because it only takes a few minutes a day to take a step back and realize indulgences she has in her life.
Father Than Vu, a Christ the King pastor, said the purpose of fasting from everyday things in life is to remember that others are less fortunate and give an appreciation for it after Lent.
“It just means when you fast from chocolate, when Easter comes you’ll enjoy it more,” Vu said.
Vu said whatever it is someone chooses to do, whether it is fasting or doing something extra, it has to be done in the context of strengthening a relationship with God.