Meredith Mammarella has not had a hot shower for almost 40 days.

The junior marketing major chose to give up hot showers for Lent.

Lent is a Christian time of fasting and prayer before Easter that is used to symbolize the time Jesus spent in the desert.

Mammarella said she chose to give up hot showers because she wanted to do something different, and it was “more intense.”

“Hot water is a luxury, and it showed part of my weakness,” Mammarella said.

She said for the minutes she spent in the cold shower she could suffer like Christ suffered on the cross.

Mammarella said she will be going home to celebrate Easter with her family because it is an important holiday to her.

The Newman Catholic Center and St. Charles Borromeo Church will have various masses for students who decide to stay in Charleston for the holiday. St. Charles had Mass at 7 p.m. on Holy Thursday, and Good Friday and Holy Saturday will also be at 7 p.m. Easter Sunday’s Mass will be at 8 a.m. The Newman Catholic Center will have mass at noon on Good Friday and at 11 a.m. on Easter Sunday.

While some students will take advantage of the various mass times, Dan Czajkowski, a junior athletic training major, said he will be going home for the holiday.

“I feel like I need to spend Easter with my family because it’s a family-based holiday,” Czajkowski said.

He said he successfully gave up all sweets and pizza for Lent because he felt it would challenge him to resist temptation.

Czajkowski said he was offered pizza many times but refused. He said he also went to Late Night at Thomas Dining and didn’t get pizza.

He said he had temptations at home because there are a lot of sweets around his house.

Tracy Coon, a junior elementary education major, said she decided not to give anything up this year, but instead to tried to better herself in different ways. She said she tried to clean up her language, give up snacking during Holy Week and go to church. Coon said she’s done various things like this for Lent since she was little.

“When you do that, it reminds you of the reason we’re going through Lent,” Coon said.

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Sara Cuadrado can be reached at 581-7942 or at slcuadrado@eiu.edu.