Strange and Bizarre Lenten Food Loopholes, Including Michigan’s Muskrat Tradition

For many Christians around the world, the Lenten season is a very solemn occasion. It represents the 40 days Jesus spent fasting. In the Catholic faith, red meat from land animals is forbidden on Fridays during Lent, so fish and seafood are eaten instead.

Michigan Winters and the Muskrat Exception

But with the brutally cold Michigan winters, there was not always an easy way to fish. How were early Michigan settlers supposed to sustain themselves? In the early 1800s, Father Gabriel Richard from the Detroit area saw a problem and lobbied for a special dispensation for Catholics in Monroe County. This would allow them to eat, believe it or not, muskrat.

When Beavers and Reptiles Became “Fish”

Patheos reports that other religious leaders also asked for alternatives to fish to be allowed by the church in certain regions throughout the country according to Dappled Things. The Bishop of Quebec asked for beavers to be classified as fish, since they spend much of their time in the water.

READ MORE: Why Do Michiganders Still Eat Muskrat Instead of Fish 

Over time, people found loopholes in the rules, allowing several other animals to become fish alternatives, including alligators, iguanas, and other reptiles. Capybaras, a giant water mammal, were eaten in South America, and in parts of Africa, some people even ate hippos during Lent.

Puffin Considered a Fish Instead of a Bird?

Even the puffin caused controversy at a French monastery when an archbishop forbade the fowl. Monks gathered scientists to argue that the puffin, sometimes called a sea parrot, was more fish than fowl.

Get our free mobile app

With all of these not exactly appetizing alternatives on the menu, it is no wonder people love to fill up on pączki on Fat Tuesday before Lent begins.