The First Food President Biden Plans To Indulge In After Lent Is No Surprise

People have had to sacrifice a lot during the coronavirus pandemic, but Christians around the world may have opted to go the extra mile over the last few days for Lent, the 40 day period between Ash Wednesday and Easter Sunday. Lent is a time for penance, fasting (skipping meals), and abstinence (staying away from certain types of food, usually meat), as a way of self-sacrifice (via Bustle). 

Most Catholics decide ahead of time what it is they give up for Lent, whether it is a past-time (gossiping? social media?) or a favorite food item. The practice of giving up something at Lent is universal -  so in case you're wondering whether President Joe Biden, who is the second practicing Catholic in the White House after John F Kennedy (via Pew Research Center), is doing to mark the season of sacrifice, he is. He was asked what it was that he was giving a hard pass to until Easter Sunday. And his answer? "I gave up all sweets for Lent. You have no idea how hard it is for me" (via the White House).  

Actually, the president may be wrong on that point. We do have an idea because he's made it abundantly clear on several occasions just how important sweets were to his life. When he was vice president, Biden was photographed not just once, but several times enjoying his go-to sweet treat, ice cream (chocolate chip), and he even said he was "an ice cream guy" (via Today). There's even a whole Tumbler site called Joe Biden Eats Ice Cream, dedicated to Biden, and it's got a thread of photos of the then-vice president hamming it up with his favorite sweet sidekick.

So none of us should be too surprised to find out exactly what the Easter Bunny might be bringing the President after Easter Sunday services. When asked what sweet he was "looking forward to having" first when the Lenten season ends this weekend, his answer was "ice cream" (via the White House).