Eat No Meat, on Good Friday and Holy Saturday Fish is the Dish

I’ve noticed signs for the St. Alphonsus Church fish fry held every Friday evening during Lent. You know how those things go—start to read promotions for fried fish dinners and in no time fish, chips and clam chowder is all you can think about.

"Your sales volume increases 300 percent (on Good Friday and Easter Saturday), if not more than that," Edwards said. "Those days are always in the Top 10."

Today is Good Friday, one of most bustling times of the year for seafood stores and restaurants throughout Southeast Texas.

Edwards said the sharp increase can be attributed to the Catholic tradition of not eating meat on Fridays during Lent.

Rich Courville, who owns Courville's Catering, said his catering menu this time of year switches from barbecued meats to fried fish.

Gilberto: OH MY GOD, JUST DON'T EAT THE F***ING MEAT TODAY!

Me: Okay, fine, whatever.

And I don't. 'Cause I'm a good wife like that.

This year his mom called while he was driving to work. The calls are actually quite funny. She says hi and wishes him a happy Good Friday, to which he expresses surprise, and she freaks out that he didn't know and could've eaten meat, and he gets upset that he almost damned his soul, and she spends the rest of the conversation making him promise over and over again that he'll stay true to his roots and not eat meat, and he spends the rest of the conversation promising. And then he immediately calls me.

I got my Good Friday wake-up call at 7:00 this morning.

Gilberto: I can't eat the lunch you packed for me, it has meat in it!

Me: What? Can't eat the lunch? Oh, is it Good Friday? Did your mom call?

Gilberto: YES, she called. Or I would've eaten it! It would've been awful! I could be in hell right now!

Me: It's not like I tried to poison you! I just forgot! My goodness.

Gilberto: Laural, just promise me that you won't eat meat. And that includes Gabi.

Me: Gabi?

Gilberto: DON'T YOU DARE FEED MEAT TO MY BABY TODAY!

Me: Okay! Chill out! I wasn't planning to!

Since the dinner took place in St. Alphonsus’ cafeteria, the evening took me back to my Easters of long ago when I was a devout Roman Catholic altar boy living in Los Angeles. Although I am no longer a practicing Catholic, my memories of Holy Week from fifty years back remain vivid.

Ironically, my childhood Easters had a strong Mexican connection.

Like most Catholic families, our celebration began on Palm Sunday. And from Holy Thursday, the first day of the Triduum and often referred to as Maundy Thursday, through Easter Sunday, we spent many hours in Church commemorating Christ’s passion.

On Good Friday, from 12 Noon to 3:00 P.M., we mourned Christ’s sacrifice wherein he assumed the sins of the world handed down to Him from God the Father.

Saturday, however, was different. Since Holy Saturday is a sacred but not a Holy Day of Obligation, we took it off—so to speak—to drive downtown to Olvera Street where the annual Blessing of the Animals took place.

On Olvera Street, Mexicans have been celebrating Sabado de Gloria for decades by sprinkling holy water on each animal as its owners walk it along. Appearing in the animal parade over the years have been cats, dogs, snakes, pigs, sheep, goats, donkeys, horses, opossums, hamsters, birds, monkeys, llamas, camels, chickens and peacocks.

For my younger sisters and me, after days of solemn prayer, the hours we spent on Olvera Street was like going to the circus.