Traditions handed down through families often fall by the wayside, as modern generations want to make their own mark.
But one Easter tradition many families still adhere to is eating fish on Good Friday.
Early Christians abstained from eating warm-blooded animals on Fridays, in acknowledgement of the day of Jesus’ sacrifice on the Cross. Tradition led this to become a rule for Good Fridays, and fish was the common meal of choice.
Chester fishmongers say trade is up at this time of year.
Mick Brickland, owner of Bricklands fishmongers on Faulkner Street, Hoole told us: “We do sell a lot more fish on Good Friday although it’s not as popular as it used to be as people’s eating habits have changed.
“A lot of people go for cod, haddock and plaice but salmon and seabass are now much more popular as the price has come down compared to what it used to be.”
Stephen Cartridge, of Chester Market fishmongers, said: “It is still a very popular tradition to eat fish on Good Friday and we see lots of ‘once a year’ customers who only eat fresh fish at Easter.”
The tradition of eating fish on Friday’s was even the reason for the creation of McDonald’s Filet-o-Fish sandwich. Due to hamburger sales dropping off noticeably on Fridays during Lent, Lou Groen, the owner of the franchise in a predominantly Roman Catholic neighbourhood of Cincinnati introduced the new tasty takeaway in 1962 and sales picked up again.
