Why has everyone gone la la for Lent?

From The London Times-

I can still visualise the battered blue biscuit tin we used for our lenten stash of confectionery. As children, my younger sister and I always gave up sweets for Lent, but we saw no need to forgo our evening visit to the Tally — Italian ice cream van — that chimed into our street every night at seven on the dot.

We simply bought our 1970s confectionery as usual and put it in the tin until Easter. By then, of course, the assorted Curly Wurlies and Milky Ways had taken on a strange white bloom and couldn’t really compete with the influx of chocolate eggs from parents and aunties.

It all rather defeated the purpose somewhat. Despite being brought up as devout Catholics, we missed out on the days of true fasting and sacrifice endured by earlier, more observant generations.

We ate fish on a Friday, but it was something of a treat because it came with chips. In past centuries, especially before the Reformation, Lent was legally enforceable and truly penitent. In the Eastern Orthodox tradition it remains proscriptive to this day: no eggs, dairy products, oils, wine or sex until the Easter bunny arrives.

But the really interesting thing about Lent, which is now into its second week, is its increasing popularity in our secular world. When I was a child, it didn’t seem much of a thing among non-Catholic friends. Now, the Protestant denominations pay it much more attention as do millions of non-believers. Of course that’s no different from other dates in the Christian calendar. But while the attractions of Christmas and Easter to agnostics and atheists are self-evident — eat, drink, party, then eat a bit more — Lent’s appeal is considerably more austere. That hasn’t stopped it being embraced by people who haven’t set foot in church since the last wedding they attended and for whom Good Friday marks nothing more than the arrival of hot cross buns.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/columnists/article5863882.ece