Why can people not eat meat on Fridays?

Answer 1

Roman Catholic Answer

You don't eat meat on Good Friday because Good Friday commemorates the passion and death of Our Blessed Savior and Christians have refrained from meat on this day since the first century. For the past millenium, at least, it has been required by Church law. It is called Abstinence and is an act of penitence and physical mortification imposed by the Church for the health of souls.
It's been a very long Catholic tradition to not eat meat on Good Friday out of respect for the Crucifixion of the messiah, Jesus Christ.

Answer 2

The pagan fish Goddess, Aphrodite Salacia, was worshipped by her followers on her sacred day, Friday, when they ate fish and engaging in orgies. Just as the early Christians adopted other pagan feast days in order to divert worship away from pagan deities, so they adopted the fish symbol and ate fish on Fridays, but of course did not engage in 'salacious' orgies.

The original symbolism has long been forgotten, and many Christians now believe that fish is eaten on Fridays to honour the disciples who were fishermen.

Roman Catholic AnswerThe Church requires Friday abstinence (not eating meat) as a penance to honor the day on which Jesus Christ gave up His life on the cross and to deny yourself, in some small way, in order to conform your life to His. "The Church wants all the people of God to do penance, and not only passively in accepting from God's hands the hard things of life. She therefore 'exhorts all Christians without distinction to respond to the divine precept of penance by certain voluntary acts which go beyond the renunciation imposed by the burdens of everyday life.'" The Catholic Catechism, Fr. John A. Hardon, S.J. Another Christian answerMany Christians do eat meat on Fridays. As stated above in the Roman Catholic answer the reason why some Christians (especially those Roman Catholics who adhere strictly to their Church's conventions) do not eat meat on Fridays is because Friday was the day on which Jesus was crucified, and it is, as a result of that, an outward act of penance. Fish is not considered to be 'meat'. The main reason for this was that when the rule came in meat was expensive while fish was cheap. Many people gave the difference in the cost of the meat and fish to the poor. However, these days, fish is as expensive as meat, and so the act of eating fish is purely an outward penitent sign rather than a pragmatic act of charity.

However, many Christians do not see the need for Fridays being kept special as they regard every day as God-given and that we are to remember Christ and his sacrifice, not just on Fridays or Sundays, but throughout our lives. So they have no special dietary restrictions at all, whether on Fridays or any other day.

It has absolutely nothing to do with some of the disciples being fishermen.

Answer 3

Though frankly a rather outdated idea, it is based on the principal that most people, for many hundreds of years, considered the "meat" course to be the main basis of their meal. Not allowing meat on certain days was a form of imposed self-mortification, a little "sacrifice" to remind people of the enormity of the sacrifice that Christ made for them by dying on the cross. I say it is somewhat outdated because such a high percentage of people today either rarely eat meat, or would just as soon have seafood anyway.

Answer 4

People can.

Certain religions prohibit it. If you are not a member of that religion then there is no bar to you.

Roman Catholic AnswerThe fourth precept of the Church ("You shall observe the days of fasting and abstinence established by the Church") ensures the times of ascesis and penance which prepare us for the liturgical feasts and help us to acquire mastery over our instincts and freedom of heart {Codex Iuris Canonici, cann. 1249-1251} (from The Catechism of the Catholic Church, second edition, English translation 1994, paragraph 2043)

Answer 5

A pope once decided to commemorate Jesus' death every week rather than every day or every year.