The Nortons are Fasting. Well, specifically, Carrie, Jody, Elanee and Ben are fasting.
Here's the deal with the Baha'i Fast.
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The annual Nineteen-Day Fast: a time of spiritual purification
From March 2-20, Baha'is worldwide observe the annual 19-day Fast by refraining from eating or drinking from sunrise to sunset. As in many world religions, the Fast is a time for reflecting on one's spiritual progress and making an effort to detach from material desires.
Baha'is age 15 and older rise before dawn to eat breakfast and pray. In the evening they enjoy a customary meal. The Faith exempts the following groups from fasting, as it could be harmful to their health: those younger than 15 and older than 70, the ill or infirm, women who are pregnant, nursing or menstruating, travelers and those engaged in heavy physical labor.
Shoghi Effendi, the Guardian of the Faith, wrote that the Fast is "essentially a period of meditation and prayer, of spiritual recuperation, during which the believer must strive to make the necessary readjustments in his inner life, and to refresh and reinvigorate the spiritual forces latent in his soul. Its significance and purpose are, therefore, fundamentally spiritual in character."
"Praised be Thou, O my God, that Thou hast ordained Naw Ruz as a festival unto those who have observed the fast for love of Thee and abstained from all that is abhorrent unto Thee."
- Baha'u'llah
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