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Why Do Catholics Eat Fish on Friday?
Did you know that the origins of Groundhog Day stem from a Catholic tradition? Or that the common pretzel was once a Lenten reward for the pious? Why Do Catholics Eat Fish on Friday is a fascinating guide to the roots of all-things-Catholic. This smart and concise guide will introduce readers to the hidden heritage in many commonplace things that make up contemporary life. The reader-friendly format and the illuminating entries will make this guide a perfect gift for Catholics and anyone who loves a bit of historic trivia.
Table of Contents - Foreword * Time * Manners & Dining Etiquette * Food * Drink * Music & Theater * Sports & Games * Holidays & Festivities * Flowers & Plants * Insects, Animals, & More * American Places * International, National, & State Symbols * Clothes & Other Sundry Inventions * Education & Superstition * Art & Science * Law & Architecture * Words, Words, Words--Catholic, Anti-Catholic, and Post-Catholic
Table of Contents - Foreword * Time * Manners & Dining Etiquette * Food * Drink * Music & Theater * Sports & Games * Holidays & Festivities * Flowers & Plants * Insects, Animals, & More * American Places * International, National, & State Symbols * Clothes & Other Sundry Inventions * Education & Superstition * Art & Science * Law & Architecture * Words, Words, Words--Catholic, Anti-Catholic, and Post-Catholic
224 pages, Paperback
First published November 29, 2005
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
August 6, 2016
Any honest man or woman of even middling education knows that the history of western civilization is closely intertwined with the history of the Catholic Church. Rather than take an in-depth look at two thousand years, Michael Foley decided to sate his curiousity by doing something arguably more interesting: Writing a birds-eye view of how the church influenced the civilization around it.
Foley did an impressive amount of homework before writing this entertaining little reference work filled with nuggets of historical, cultural, and linguistic trivia. He writes with verve, and while the reference format of the book gets wearisome at times -- I only skimmed the chapter on plants and insects -- the chapters on arts and letters are particularly good.
The science section is thinner than it could have been. Philosophy suffers, too -- Stanley L. Jaki tried to fill some of those gaps in his own more scholarly books.
Foley is a dab hand at trivia, however. In his section on inventions, I learned, among other things, that the birth of radio was made possible by the pioneering wireless telegraph work of Father Jozef Murgas, a Catholic priest from Slovakia who emigrated to the United States and worked in Wilkes-Barre, Pennyslvania. Father Murgas eventually passed his 17 patents and his research notes to Guglielmo Marconi, but "went on to benefit mankind with an even better invention: the fishing reel."
Foley did an impressive amount of homework before writing this entertaining little reference work filled with nuggets of historical, cultural, and linguistic trivia. He writes with verve, and while the reference format of the book gets wearisome at times -- I only skimmed the chapter on plants and insects -- the chapters on arts and letters are particularly good.
The science section is thinner than it could have been. Philosophy suffers, too -- Stanley L. Jaki tried to fill some of those gaps in his own more scholarly books.
Foley is a dab hand at trivia, however. In his section on inventions, I learned, among other things, that the birth of radio was made possible by the pioneering wireless telegraph work of Father Jozef Murgas, a Catholic priest from Slovakia who emigrated to the United States and worked in Wilkes-Barre, Pennyslvania. Father Murgas eventually passed his 17 patents and his research notes to Guglielmo Marconi, but "went on to benefit mankind with an even better invention: the fishing reel."
January 26, 2017
Not a horrible book, just rather dry. I'm sure it's researched well, but it reads like a fact website printed out as aside from the chapter openings (which are nice and informative) it's just lists of Catholic factoids.
Some are a bit reaching, like a good portion are more derived from medieval Western Europe than anything else, which obviously was dominated by the Christian church at the time which was, yes, Catholic before the Reformation.
Still interesting to a degree, but would only recommend for people that are really into Catholicism, as even a former Catholic (or as the book would say 'apostate' lol) I found it to be a large shallow pool. Would rather find book that delves more into how the Catholic Church shaped the Middle Ages and how much of these trends/words/habits are still around today.
Some are a bit reaching, like a good portion are more derived from medieval Western Europe than anything else, which obviously was dominated by the Christian church at the time which was, yes, Catholic before the Reformation.
Still interesting to a degree, but would only recommend for people that are really into Catholicism, as even a former Catholic (or as the book would say 'apostate' lol) I found it to be a large shallow pool. Would rather find book that delves more into how the Catholic Church shaped the Middle Ages and how much of these trends/words/habits are still around today.
August 9, 2008
This book had a few interesting tidbits but that is about it. This book did have the Catholic origin to just about everything, as the title suggests, but many times it was so loosely related to Catholocism that it seemed ridiculous to even suggest they were related. I skimmed much of this book because I just couldn't take the boredom.
October 3, 2019
Because the Catholic Church has been such a major presence in Europe for the last two thousand years it is pretty obvious that Catholicism would have a very noticeable influence on western culture. I was surprised however by just how pervasive that influence has been. Michael Foley has done a marvelous job of research and in this book he presents his findings, which show that on almost a daily basis we all use terms or enjoy things that have their roots in Catholicism.
Be it the arts, science, traditions or just everyday words, the Catholic Church has played a major role in our everyday life and the author has done a superb job of giving us an idea of just how much influence the Church has had. From why we eat turkey on Thanksgiving to the "X" used by people who can't sign their name to make their legal mark, the influence of the Church is all around us and can be found in the most unexpected places. I have to say that on occasion the writing is a bit stiff and some of the items discussed are thrown at the reader in a far too rapid-fire manner but the credit that must go to the author for the amount of research that went into this book more than make up for any style shortcomings. Pick up this book and prepare to be amazed! I certainly was.
Be it the arts, science, traditions or just everyday words, the Catholic Church has played a major role in our everyday life and the author has done a superb job of giving us an idea of just how much influence the Church has had. From why we eat turkey on Thanksgiving to the "X" used by people who can't sign their name to make their legal mark, the influence of the Church is all around us and can be found in the most unexpected places. I have to say that on occasion the writing is a bit stiff and some of the items discussed are thrown at the reader in a far too rapid-fire manner but the credit that must go to the author for the amount of research that went into this book more than make up for any style shortcomings. Pick up this book and prepare to be amazed! I certainly was.
July 26, 2018
Honest disclosure: I have not read all of this book. However, to me, it is more of a reference book than a book to read straight through. I picked it up recently to check on a superstition that I heard of to see if there was a Catholic connection. Following that, I thumbed through the book to read about jazz, whiskey, George Washington's Rules of Civility, sign language, Flat-Earther, and a few more. I own this book because I met the author Michael Foley once at a church function. He laughingly mentioned that he had met a number of people who keep the book in their bathrooms as it tends to stimulate interesting conversations when guests visit. For this reason, it could also make a good coffee table book though it is just a small paperback and wouldn't have the visual effect that some coffee table books have. I am happy to own this book and just wished that I remembered to look at it more often.
May 20, 2022
Much of the book is a history lesson of the contributions of Catholic Christians to the world.
Many of these are because at the time, and place, these inventions, or practices happen to be Catholic, and these achievements are ever-so thinnly connected back to the religion.
Certainly, there are entries that trace the brief history of practices that are very much associated to, and an expression of the church.
As a history buff, these connections were entertaining to learn.
Many of these are because at the time, and place, these inventions, or practices happen to be Catholic, and these achievements are ever-so thinnly connected back to the religion.
Certainly, there are entries that trace the brief history of practices that are very much associated to, and an expression of the church.
As a history buff, these connections were entertaining to learn.
September 13, 2023
Not quite what I expected. Very academic, and if you were Catholic and invented or created anything, you get credit for that being a Catholic source of everything. Some of the items listed were a stretch, can Catholics really lay claim to old testament origins? I guess it appears in Catholic versions of the bible, so that gives it a Catholic origin? Very well researched, just not really about some of the rites and practices of the Catholic faith.
June 2, 2018
Once again, I think my review is due mostly to unmatched expectations. I thought this would be an in depth book about just a few topics whereas it was a paragraph about so.many.things. My brain can’t switch that quickly, not does it have a chance to retain any of it. That’s not the author’s fault though. I can’t imagine the research that went into all of the topics! Good grief.
January 25, 2023
IF WHAT SO WHAT
Title was inaccurate in so many ways. Little support for theories. A More accurate title would be How gerat are Catholics. I didn't get 1/2 way through the book. If inaccuracies dissuade you from reading a 'factual' book, THIS BOOK WILL NOT BE FOR YOU.
Title was inaccurate in so many ways. Little support for theories. A More accurate title would be How gerat are Catholics. I didn't get 1/2 way through the book. If inaccuracies dissuade you from reading a 'factual' book, THIS BOOK WILL NOT BE FOR YOU.
March 14, 2012
There are ways to prove the Catholic origins of things & then there are ways not to. Mike Foley in "Why Do Catholics Eat Fish on Friday: The Catholic Origin to Just About Everything" fails miserably at that task in this 2005 book. The idea itself is a simple enough concept to categorize everything from holidays, to places, to plants, to idioms in a way that "should" be interesting. The problem is that it isn't. Foley's book reads like a badly organized encyclopedia or elongated dictionary with no real rhyme or reason to it. While the history of the holidays is interesting along w/ some of the place names, he spends an entire chapter on plants which is beyond annoying & also brings up a lot of things that members of most religions really couldn't care all that much about. Don't get me wrong the book itself is well intentioned & I learned a lot about things I never knew, but there are far better ways to organize this & far better ways to present the case rather than just random items in random chapters. A huge disappointment for likely people of any religion.
August 6, 2009
A decent little book, but far from being only about Catholic origin. Quite a few entries are broadly Christian, and a few are actually Jewish rather than Catholic. I think the author took a few liberties in calling certain things wholly Catholic.
January 17, 2013
This book was interesting though the writing style was not what I expected. I found that I still have some questions about some of what he discussed.
February 2, 2013
Read this to prepare for a presentation I'm giving on Catholic food. There were some things I already knew about, but also an amazing amount of information that I had never heard of!
December 10, 2016
A fascinating read into the origin of most things we might not consider catholic, and the many traditions we still currently practice.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews