Maybe to First Worlders it is. But not for much of the rest of the world. Or Muslims - heck, they fast from sun up to sun down during Ramadan.
Good point. So what do third worlders give up for Lent I wonder?
I think you have to do a serious fast, as Orthodox Christians do, or as the Muslims do, for it to get through to you and make a difference. Speaking for myself and my hard head and hard heart. Giving up one or two luxuries doesn’t mean much
Look here for the Orthodox fast:
http://www.abbamoses.com/fasting.html
No dairy, no meat, no eggs, no fish with backbones, no wine or oil...
First five days of Lent, two meals only, on Wednesday evening and on Friday, although “Few laymen keep these rules in their fullness.”
And you could still game the system - grilled lobster and scallops with Pernod, an arugula and avocado salad, flown-in raspberries for desert...
I try to cook simply and humbly and without luxury during Lent, although the definition of luxury is debatable. What strange times we live in, when it is so easy to obtain high calorie sweets and fats, and one can actually be self-indulgent with vegetables - fresh sugar snap peas and red peppers - no flabby turnips and sauerkraut to choke down night after night and be thankful you haven’t run out yet.
As for Muslims and Ramadan, it’s not all that difficult to fast from sun up to sundown for a month; just look at what college students on a budget do all the time, and for longer periods. It’s especially not difficult to fast during the daytime hours when you have feasts during each of the night times, which is how some Muslims I know have told me they live during Ramadan. I was told is was like a party in the evening hours. So I have never understood their notion of “sacrificing”.
The same goes for giving up something during Lent. If you fast from something during the 40 days, but go overboard as soon as the time’s up, what have you gained? If you intend to make a better habit about something, just be more mindful of it.