Where'd the alleluia go?

I had a friend ask "where did the alleluia go" after my last post.  I am not a theologian so in my own words I will try to explain.  

Many people always ask "what did you give up for Lent?"  Well in many churches (including the Catholic church and a lot of Lutheran churches) we give up the "alleluia".  Why?  Because we use the time of Lent as a time for reflection on our own personal sin and the death of Christ to save us from those sins.  We lay aside the alleluia to give us time to think and to also make Easter morning all that more special when we are able to shout our "alleluias" for the first time in over 40 days.  It started back with the church in around the 5th century, but I was reading that only recently has the actual burying of the alleluias come about.  Some churches will actually bury some kind of alleluia in the ground to bring back at Easter.  I have also seen some places carry the alleluia out of the church before Ash Wednesday.  Then they carry it back in on Easter like our kids did.  Our church (and probably most of the ELCA) changes our liturgy and order of service during Lent to give us time to reflect on the life and death of Christ.  Since "alleluia" literally means joy, triumph, and an expression of thanksgiving, we choose to save those words for Easter Sunday when Jesus triumphs over all!

But don't worry, it's back!  Alleluia to our risen Christ!