Let’s get a little nerdy, but keep it chill. In the old church rules, “meat” meant the flesh of warm-blooded animals—think cows, pigs, chickens. Fish, being cold-blooded and slimy, got a pass. It was basically a loophole, like wearing sneakers with a tuxedo.
So, technically, you could eat beaver or muskrat on Fridays too, but nobody’s doing that. Thank goodness.
The idea was that by giving up the “fancy” stuff (land meat), you were making a small sacrifice. But fish was seen as humble, simple peasant food—never mind that we now pay $20 a pound for wild salmon.
Why do we eat fish on Good Friday? Surprising reason behind church law
The Social Side of Slime
There’s something deeply human about eating fish on Good Friday. It’s not just a religious rule; it’s a shared weirdness.
You know that moment when you’re at a work lunch, and everyone’s ordering the steak? You’re there with a sad-looking tilapia, and someone says, “Oh, you’re doing the fish thing?” You nod, and suddenly you’re in a secret club.
It’s like the opposite of a cool club—it’s a club held together by soggy batter and tartar sauce. But it’s ours.
