What is Lent? When is the observance of Lent? For those in the Christian faith, the Season of Lent is typically considered to be the 40 days between Ash Wednesday and Easter Sunday , and is often characterized by abstention from certain kinds of food or activities. The period is most commonly thought of as a symbol of the 40 days and nights Jesus spent struggling with the devil in the wilderness. While sometimes regarded as a predominantly Roman Catholic observance, for Christians of all denominations it is a time of preparation and self-sacrifice through fasting, giving up worldly desires and activities. The History of Lent The practice of Lent likely has its origins in practical reasons. In agricultural societies (as most Christian cultures were, in the fourth and fifth centuries, when Lent is first mentioned in historical context), winter crops were often scarce. Correspondingly, a period of fasting may have been a spiritual response to a physical need. The excesses and revels of Shrove Tuesday (also known as Mardi Gras), the day before Ash Wednesday, were, in all likelihood, a response to the same phenomenon, as people wanted to consume perishable goods (like meats, eggs, dairy products, and sweets) before they spoiled.

As the practice of Lent evolved, it began to take on the added significance of a preparation of new church members for the baptism of Easter Sunday. In the spirit of Christianity as a community of living faith, this period of fasting and preparation was eventually embraced by all Church members. Additionally, Lent was once referred to as quadragesima, which is Latin for the fortieth day before Easter. The word "Lent" itself is thought to come from a Germanic root, lenct, which initially meant "spring" and, later, "fast." Why 40 Days? Lent's duration is actually 46 days. However, as Sundays represent Christ's resurrection, they are not commonly counted in the tally between Ash Wednesday and the Easter vigil. The primary meaning of the fast is considered to be a way of identifying with the suffering of Jesus as recorded in the Gospels, and of acknowledging his substitutionary death for the sins of mankind.

The meaning of the season is further enriched by other biblical occurrences of the number 40 -- Moses and Elias spent 40days in the wilderness, in a similar manner to Christ, the Jewish people wandered for 40 years, as recorded in Exodus, and Jesus spent 40hours in the tomb, prior to his resurrection. Colors and Decorations of Lent For the Lenten season, purple, red and dark violet are often the favored colors, symbolizing the pain of Christ's crucifixion. Gray, the color of ashes, is often used for Ash Wednesday, and this practice is sometimes extended throughout the entire fast. Furthermore, some churches avoid flowers during the season, reintroducing them at Easter (often to great psychological effect) with a flowering cross. Other congregations choose to use a roughly-hewn wooden cross as a focal point throughout the season, symbolizing of Christ's pain and martyrdom. For Christians of all colors, Lent continues to symbolize the self-sacrifice of Jesus Christ. The period of fasting from certain foods, drinks and activities serves as a reminder of the sorrow and joy of the Resurrection and the truly loving and compassionate spirit of the Christian faith.

Our Product Ambassadors are ready to introduce you to our full product offering 888-317-4018 Lent | Article about Lent by The Free Dictionary Lent | Article about Lent by The Free Dictionary Also found in: Dictionary , Thesaurus , Medical , Legal , Financial , Acronyms , Idioms , Wikipedia . Lent [Old Eng. lencten,=spring], Latin Quadragesima (meaning 40; thus the 40 days of Lent). In Christianity, Lent is a time of penance, prayer, preparation for or recollection of baptism, and preparation for the celebration of Easter Easter [A.S. Eastre, name of a spring goddess], chief Christian feast, commemorating the resurrection of Jesus after his crucifixion. In the West, Easter is celebrated on the Sunday following the full moon next after the vernal equinox (see calendar); thus, it falls ..... Click the link for more information. . Observance of Lent is as old as the 4th cent. In Eastern churches it is reckoned as the six weeks before Palm Sunday.

In the West the penitential season begins liturgically with Septuagesima, the ninth Sunday before Easter; the next Sundays are Sexagesima and Quinquagesima. Lent begins on Ash Wednesday Ash Wednesday, in the Western Church, the first day of Lent, being the seventh Wednesday before Easter. On this day ashes are placed on the foreheads of the faithful to remind them of death, of the sorrow they should feel for their sins, and of the necessity of changing their ..... Click the link for more information. , the 40th weekday before Easter. Of the Sundays in Lent the fifth is Passion Sunday and the last is Palm Sunday. The week preceding Easter is Holy Week Holy Week, week before Easter. Its chief days are named Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Holy Saturday. In Christian life it is a week of devout observance, commemorating the Passion and Jesus' death on the cross. The liturgies have special features and services, e. ..... Click the link for more information. . Lent ends at midnight Holy Saturday. See Shrove Tuesday Shrove Tuesday, day before Ash Wednesday (the beginning of Lent).

In the Latin countries it is the last day of the carnival, called by the French Mardi Gras. ..... Click the link for more information. . From the 5th to 9th cent. strict fasting was required; only one meal was allowed per day, and meat and fish (and sometimes eggs and dairy) were forbidden. During and since the 9th cent. fasting restrictions were gradually loosened. By the 20th cent. meat was allowed, except on Fridays. Pope Paul VI began (1966) a trend toward penitential works (such as acts of charity) in conjunction with Lent. The Christian observance of Lent may have a parallel in the fasting practiced in Greco-Roman mystery religions, in which it was considered an aid to enlightenment and often preceeded prophecy. Lent may also have a parallel in the Jewish Omer, the interval between Passover Passover, in Judaism, one of the most important and elaborate of religious festivals. Its celebration begins on the evening of the 14th of Nisan (first month of the religious calendar, corresponding to March–April) and lasts seven days in Israel, eight days in the Diaspora ..... Click the link for more information.

and Shavuot Shavuot [Heb.,=weeks], Jewish feast celebrated on the 6th of the month of Sivan (usually some time in May) in Israel and on the sixth and seventh days in the Diaspora. Originally an agricultural festival celebrating the end of the winter grain harvest (which began at Passover), ..... Click the link for more information. that has become a time of semimourning and sadness. During the weeks of the Omer period, Jews in some communities refrain from wearing new clothes and there are no marriages or other public festivities. Lent Great Lent Many Christians observe an approximately forty-day period of preparation for Easter known as Lent. The call to repentance, that is, to a change of heart and mind that inspires one to live out God's teachings, echoes through this season of the church year. In response, Christians who observe Lent seek spiritual renewal through a variety of activities, including prayer and meditation, fasting, study, selfexamination, and charitable works. The liturgical color for Lent is purple, which signifies humility and repentance. For Western Christians, that is, Roman Catholics and Protestants, Lent begins on Ash Wednesday, forty-six days before Easter, and continues through Holy Saturday.

For Orthodox and other Eastern Christians, Lent begins on the evening of the seventh Sunday before Easter (see also Forgiveness Sunday; Clean Monday). Orthodoxy is one of the three main branches of the Christian faith. Orthodox Christianity developed in eastern Europe and the countries surrounding the eastern half of the Mediterranean Sea. Orthodox Christians follow a different church calendar than that commonly adhered to by Roman Catholics and Protestants (see also Easter, Date of). Origins Scholars agree that Lent came into being by the fourth century, but have yet to reach a consensus on its roots. Some of them argue that Lent grew out of what was originally a short fast in preparation for Easter. This fast may also have commemorated the sad events of Good Friday, the day on which Jesus was crucified, and Holy Saturday, the day on which he lay dead in the tomb. Fragments of the writings of early Christian leaders confirm the existence of these short fasts. Writing about Easter preparations in the year 190 A.D.

a Christian leader named Irenaeus declared that "some think they ought to fast for one day, others for two days, and others even for several, while others reckon forty hours both of day and night to their fast." Not long afterward the Christian writer Tertullian compared the forty-hour fast taking place on Good Friday and Holy Saturday unfavorably with the longer fast observed by the Christian sect to which he belonged. Dionysius the Great, bishop of Alexandria (d. 264) recorded the fact that in his diocese some Christians did not observe a fast, and yet others fasted two, three, four, or six days in advance of Easter. Many scholars interpret these early fasts as the beginnings of Holy Week, but do not believe that these pre-Easter observances expanded into the season we now call Lent. Instead they argue that early Christian customs surrounding baptism formed the backbone of the Lenten season. The New Testament gives few clues as to the nature of the very first Christian baptisms, but seems to suggest that as soon as interested newcomers accepted the gospel of Christ they were baptized (Acts 8:35-39, 16:30-33).

By the second century, however, documents produced by Christian writers tell of a period of preparation for baptism that included prayer, fasting, and religious instruction. Historical evidence shows that early Christian communities practiced baptism at different times of the year. By the third century, a decided preference to baptize at Easter emerged in a number of these scattered communities. By the fourth century, especially after the Council of Nicaea, an important meeting of early Christian leaders that took place in 325 A.D., Easter baptism became standard practice. This meant that the period of prayer, fasting, and religious instruction in preparation for baptism took place in the weeks preceding Easter. Some scholars reason that as time went on people began to associate the devotions practiced by the baptismal candidates, or catechumens, with a preparation for Easter itself. This process may have been aided by the fact that baptizers and other community leaders were expected to set a good example by fasting along with the catechumens. In addition, beginning in the fourth century Christian leaders began to draw stronger parallels in their writings and teachings between baptism and the death and resurrection of Christ commemorated at Easter time.

Drawing on images from Christian scripture they began to interpret baptism as a form of spiritual death and resurrection (Romans 6:1-11, Colossians 2:12). The closer the connection forged between baptism and Easter, the more logical it became for alreadybaptized Christians to prepare for Easter in much the same way that catechumens prepared for baptism. Scholars still debate how Lent came to last forty days. One theory traces the origins of the forty-day fast to the early Christian community of Alexandria, Egypt. There, and possibly in other Christian communities, people practiced a forty-day fast following the feast of Epiphany, which falls on January 6. Among Eastern Christians, Epiphany commemorates Jesus' baptism in the river Jordan. According to the Bible, Jesus fasted for forty days in the desert following his baptism. After returning from the desert he launched his ministry (Matthew 4:1-11, Mark 1:12-13, Luke 4:1-13). The early Alexandrian Christians commemorated Jesus' ordeal with a forty-day fast beginning on the day after Epiphany. Catechumens were baptized at the end of this fast.

Some scholars believe that the forty-day fast practiced by the Alexandrian community may have inspired Christian leaders from other communities to adopt a forty-day fast as a preparation for baptism. Nevertheless, Christian leaders outside the Alexandrian community shifted the fast to the forty days preceding Easter, thereby upholding an emerging preference for Easter baptism. In fact, the forty-day Lenten fast preceding Easter became commonplace by the fourth century. After that time Christian leaders drew more frequent parallels between the goals and meaning of the Lenten fast and Jesus'fast in the desert, as well as the forty-day trials endured by other important biblical figures, including Noah, Moses, and Elijah (Genesis 7:17, Exodus 34:28, 1 Kings 19:8). Words for Lent The first word used to describe this new season of the Christian year was the Greek word tessarakoste, meaning "fortieth." Christian leaders in western Europe adopted its Latin equivalent, quadragesima. In western Europe, the word quadragesima soon attached itself to the sixth Sunday before Easter, approximately the fortieth day before Easter, when western European Christians began the Lenten fast (see also Pre-Lent). This day became known as Quadragesima Sunday.

The word for Lent in many European languages evolved from this old, Latin root word. For example, the Spanish word for Lent is cuaresma, the Italian quaresima, and the French carême. The English word "Lent" traces its roots back to another word altogether. It comes from the Anglo-Saxon term lencten, meaning "springtime." The word lencten itself may have come from an old Germanic root word meaning "long," a reference to the fact that the days lengthen in the spring. Lent in the Early Middle Ages Nearly as soon as the new Lenten season took shape, it began to change. By the fifth and sixth centuries, the rise in the number of infant baptisms diminished the importance of Lent as a season of study, prayer, and fasting in preparation for adult initiation into the Christian faith. In addition, the sheer number of new baptisms wore away at the custom of the Easter or Pentecost baptismal ceremony presided over by the bishop. In this way the strong links once forged between Easter and baptism slowly began to dissolve. Instead, the devotions once practiced by aspiring Christians in preparation for baptism came to be seen as preparations that all Christians should make for Easter.

One of the most important of these devotional practices was fasting. In the early days Christian communities showed little concern for the exact number of fast days contained in the six-week Lenten season. As fasting became a more important component of Lenten devotions, however, critics began to charge that beginning the fast on Quadragesima Sunday shortchanged the Lenten season. Even though Quadragesima Sunday falls forty-two days before Easter, Sundays did not count as true days of fast and penitence since they commemorate the resurrection of Christ. This left the season of Lent with only thirty-six days. Sometime during the seventh and eighth centuries Christian leaders across western Europe started to add four more days to the fast. This meant that Western Christians began Lent on the Wednesday following the seventh Sunday before Easter, a day which became known as Ash Wednesday. In the early Middle Ages Lent increasingly came to be viewed as a season of repentance. The medieval view of repentance emphasized the admission of sin, the expression of sorrow, and the acceptance of punishment. Scholars speculate that during the early medieval era Lent served as a time during which those Christians who admitted to serious wrongdoing were publicly disciplined and reincorporated into the community.

On the first day of Lent they confessed their sins before the entire congregation and expressed grief for their failings. Afterwards the priest sprinkled their heads with ashes and gave them a garment made of sackcloth, a rough kind of fabric, to wear. Thus attired they departed to complete the penance assigned to them. These penances might include prayer, charitable works, and manual labor. They might also include physical hardships, like sleeping on the ground and going barefoot throughout Lent. Penitents were also forbidden to cut their hair, bathe, and speak with others during Lent. For this reason they often served out this time in an isolated place, like a monastery. They returned to church again on Maundy Thursday to participate in a ceremony of reconciliation and to take the Eucharist again for the first time since the start of Lent. Because a person's spiritual errors were often thought to stain his or her relatives, entire families might undergo this process of atonement together (see also Redemption). Some writers believe that the forty-day period of penance and isolation enforced on Lenten penitents may have indirectly inspired the medical practice called "quarantine," a period of mandatory isolation for the purposes of containing disease.

Medical quarantines were invented in fourteenth-century Venice. Ships suspected of harboring disease were isolated for forty days before they were permitted to dock and unload. This practice was called quarantina, from the Italian word for forty, quaranta. The word "quarantine" has also been used by the Roman Catholic Church to refer to a forty-day period of penance. Between the eighth and tenth centuries public confessions of the kind described above declined in popularity. Instead, people began to confess their sins privately to a priest. The several days preceding Lent became a popular time to complete this duty (see also Shrovetide). Lent itself provided a season in which to carry out the prescribed penance. In 1091 the Council of Benevento, a meeting of Church leaders, ordered that each and every Christian receive ashes at the start of Lent. This ritual, performed on Ash Wednesday, acknowledged that all human beings were sinners and ushered in Lent as a season of general repentance. Fasting Fasting, the oldest and most widespread Lenten custom, was practiced in an especially severe manner during the early Middle Ages, by both Western and Eastern Christians.

Those following the fast ate only one meal a day sometime in the late afternoon. The meal contained no meat, fish, eggs, or dairy products. Even on Sundays meat was still forbidden. Beginning in the ninth century, however, Western Christians gradually began to loosen the strict requirements of the fast. The restriction against eating fish was lifted, and by the thirteenth century a light evening meal was permitted. By the fifteenth century even religious communities had moved the one daily meal closer to noon. Over time the prohibition against dairy products was abandoned. In the last several centuries the requirements of the Lenten fast have changed drastically for Roman Catholics. Meat became acceptable for the main Sunday meal, and then acceptable even for weekday meals, excluding Fridays. In 1966 Pope Paul VI almost completely eliminated fasting during Lent, retaining the custom only on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday, when meat is forbidden and only one full meal and two light meals should be taken. Observant Roman Catholics also abstain from eating meat on the Fridays of Lent. The Orthodox Church, on the other hand, has maintained the rigorous fasting practices it inherited from medieval times.

Strictly observant Orthodox Christians will abstain from eating meat, fish, dairy products, eggs, olive oil, wine and other alcoholic beverages for the duration of Lent. Other Orthodox Christians modify the official regime to suit their abilities and needs. Traditional Orthodox teachings, however, emphasize that Lent should be approached with joy rather than sorrow. Orthodoxy maintains that the repentance that God desires is not so much our grief over past sins, but rather our purification and renewed devotion, which fasting helps to bring about. Orthodox Great Lent lasts slightly longer than Western Lent. It begins on the evening of the seventh Sunday preceding Easter, called Forgiveness Sunday. The first full day of Great Lent falls on the following day, Clean Monday. Many writers assert that in early medieval times, Eastern Christians fasted neither on Sundays nor on Saturdays, except on Holy Saturday. Thus Orthodox Christians began their Lent somewhat earlier than did Western Christians, in order to fill the tally of forty days. Contemporary Orthodox Christians maintain their fast throughout Lent, though fish may be eaten on the Feast of the Annunciation and, according to some, on Palm Sunday. Some Orthodox Christian authorities also permit a slight relaxation of the fast on Saturdays and Sundays, by permitting the consumption of wine and olive oil.

In addition Orthodox Christians practice a kind of eucharistic fasting during the weekdays of Lent, celebrating the Divine Liturgy (see also Eucharist) only on Saturdays, Sundays, and the Feast of the Annunciation. Today the Orthodox fast begins a week before the official beginning of Orthodox Lent, with the removal of meat products from the diet (see also Cheese Week; Pre-Lent). Since the Orthodox use a different set of rules to calculate the date of Easter, the Western and Eastern Lent periods usually fall during a different, but overlapping, series of weeks in the spring (see also Easter, Date of). Orthodox Christians refer to the pre-Easter Lenten period as "Great Lent" in order to distinguish it from other lengthy fasts that occur during the church year. For example, very observant Orthodox Christians will also fast in the weeks preceding Christmas, an observance which is sometimes called "Little Lent" or "Christmas Lent." Contemporary Observance In recent decades Western Christians have placed less emphasis on fasting and traditional forms of penance, and more emphasis on study, prayer, worship, almsgiving, and other activities that foster spiritual renewal. Still, many Western Christians continue to view Lent as a time to practice self-discipline and austerity.

The purpose of this austerity is to remove distractions that might prevent the faithful from focusing on the reality of their own shortcomings. Fasting and other kinds of self-discipline, themselves a form of austerity, are thought to strengthen the will and thereby increase one's ability to refrain from sin as well as one's inclination to devote oneself more fully to God. In many churches Lenten décor and music express the season's austerity. In some churches the organ is silent throughout Lent, no flowers are used in decorations, and the joyous exclamation alleluia is neither said nor sung. In some places the clergy veils religious images during the last days of Lent, thereby enforcing a kind of visual austerity. Although the Roman Catholic Church no longer requires Catholics to abstain from certain foods throughout the Lenten season, many still choose to give up a favorite food for Lent as a minor form of self-discipline. Some Anglicans and other Protestants also follow this custom. In the Western Christian tradition the Lenten season is comprised of two distinct phases. The first five weeks call Christians to repentance. The last week, called Holy Week, focuses worshipers'attention on the events which took place in the last days of Jesus' life as a final preparation for Easter.

For more on Lenten practices, customs, and symbols, see also Ash Wednesday; Descent into Hell; Fire Sunday; Golden Rose; Good Friday; Holy Saturday; Holy Sepulchre; Holy Week; Laetare Sunday; Lazarus Saturday; Maundy Thursday; Palm; Palm Sunday; Penitentes; Pre-Lent; Soul Saturdays; Spy Wednesday; Stations of the Cross; Sunday of the Veneration of the Holy Cross; Tenebrae; and Triduum Further Reading Cowie, L. W., and John Selwyn Gummer. The Christian Calendar. Springfield, MA: G. and C. Merriam, 1974. Garrett, Linda Oaks. "Repentance." In David Noel Freedman, ed. Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible. Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing, 2000. Hopko, Thomas. The Orthodox Faith. Volume Two, Worship. Syosset, NY: The Orthodox Church in America, 1972. Johnson, Maxwell E. "Preparation for Pascha? Lent in Christian Antiquity." In Paul F. Bradshaw and Lawrence A. Hoffman, eds.

Easter and Passover: The Symbolic Structuring of Sacred Seasons. Two Liturgical Traditions series, volume 6. Notre Dame, IN: University of Notre Dame Press, 1999. "Lent." In E. A. Livingstone, ed. The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church. Third edition. Oxford, England: Oxford University Press, 1997. Matera, Frank J. "Repentance." In Paul J. Achtemeier, ed. The HarperCollins Bible Dictionary. New York: HarperCollins, 1996. Metford, J. C. J. The Christian Year. London, England: Thames and Hudson, 1991. Myers, Allen C., ed. "Redemption." In The Eerdmans Bible Dictionary. Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing, 1987. O'Shea, W. J. "Lent." In New Catholic Encyclopedia. Volume 8. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1967. "Repentance." In E. A. Livingstone, ed. The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church. Third edition.

Oxford, England: Oxford University Press, 1997. Simpson, D. P. Cassell's New Latin Dictionary. New York: Funk and Wagnalls, 1959. Skeat, W. W. An Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. Fourth edition, revised, enlarged, and reset. Oxford, England: Clarendon Press, 1958. Slim, Hugo. A Feast of Festivals. London, England: Marshall Pickering, 1996. Talley, Thomas J. The Origins of the Liturgical Year. Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 1986. Thurston, Herbert. "Lent." In Charles G. Herbermann et al., eds. The Cath- olic Encyclopedia. New York: Appleton, 1913. Available online at: Weiser, Francis X. The Easter Book. New York: Harcourt, Brace and Company, 1954. ---. Handbook of Christian Feasts and Customs. New York: Harcourt, Brace and World, 1952. Wybrew, Hugh. Orthodox Lent, Holy Week and Easter.

Crestwood, NY: St. Vladimir's Seminary Press, 1997. Web Sites "Great Lent," a page describing the beliefs and practices of Orthodox Christians concerning Lent, posted by the Orthodox Church in America: "Fasting," an essay by the Rev. George Mastrantonis describing Greek Orthodox fasting customs posted on the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America, New York, NY, web site at: "The Great Lent," an essay by the Rev. George Mastrantonis describing the history and customs of Lent in the Greek Orthodox Church, posted on the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America, New York, NY, web site at: Lent FAQs About Lent - Easter / Lent - Catholic Online FAQs About Lent Easter / Lent FAQs About Lent The key to understanding the meaning of Lent is simple: Baptism. Preparation for Baptism and for renewing baptismal commitment lies at the heart of the season. Since the Second Vatican Council, the Church has reemphasized the baptismal character of Lent, especially through the restoration of the Catechumenate and its Lenten rituals.

Our challenge today is to renew our understanding of this important season of the Church year and to see how we can integrate our personal practices into this renewed perspective. Why is Baptism so important in our Lenten understanding? Lent as a 40-day season developed in the fourth century from three merging sources. The first was the ancient paschal fast that began as a two-day observance before Easter but was gradually lengthened to 40 days. The second was the catechumenate as a process of preparation for Baptism, including an intense period of preparation for the Sacraments of Initiation to be celebrated at Easter. The third was the Order of Penitents, which was modeled on the catechumenate and sought a second conversion for those who had fallen back into serious sin after Baptism. As the catechumens (candidates for Baptism) entered their final period of preparation for Baptism, the penitents and the rest of the community accompanied them on their journey and prepared to renew their baptismal vows at Easter. Lent, then, is radically baptismal. In this Update we'll consider some of the familiar customs of Lent and show how we can renew some of our Lenten customs to bring forth the baptismal theme.

Take the Lent quiz now! Why do some refer to Easter as Easter and others use Lent or Pentecost and what is the significance of each? In the Catholic Church, the year is divided into liturgical seasons based on significant events in the life and earthly ministry of Jesus Christ as well as the great Mysteries of our Faith. The Church Year, as it is called, begins with Advent, which is celebrated as four weeks of preparation before Christmas. Catholics are called to live liturgically by actually entering into the Church year. Such an approach to life and worship is not simply about re-enacting the great events of Salvation history - or what is called the "Paschal Mystery", the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Rather, it is an invitation to all the baptized, living their lives now in the Church which is the Body of Christ and thus to enter into the deeper meaning of our faith; to experience our Salvation as an ongoing process as we cooperate with grace and allow the Holy Spirit, the same Spirit which raised Jesus from the dead, to change us from within making us more like Him.

Easter, where we celebrate the resurrection of Christ, is preceded by Lent, a season of self-examination, fasting and penance in preparation for our Easter Day observance. So Lent is a 40 period prior to Easter Day. Also, beginning the Sunday before Easter we have Holy Week, with Palm Sunday (also called Passion Sunday), Holy Thursday, Good Friday and Holy Saturday. Easter Day actually begins on Saturday evening with the Easter Vigil. The celebration of the Vigil is in keeping with the Jewish tradition of celebrating the day from sundown to sundown. Thus, the Saturday evening Vigil Mass is a Sunday Mass. Easter is also a season that lasts 50 days and ends on Pentecost Sunday, which is an observance based on the second chapter of the Book of Acts where the Holy Spirit came down upon the apostles. This day is considered the birthday of the Church. Why do we put ash on our forehead? Ashes are applied to our forehead in the sign of the cross as the words, "Remember, you are dust and to dust you shall return" are spoken to us.

The other formula which is used, "Turn away from sin and be faithful to the Gospel" emphasizes our call to continual conversion and holiness of life. This act symbolizes our mortality as well as our need for ongoing repentance. It is a reminder that this life is short and merely a foreshadowing of what we shall become through the redemption of Jesus Christ on the cross. The work of our redemption will not be complete until we are raised from the dead, in resurrected bodies like His own and called to the eternal communion of heaven. Where do the ashes come from? The ashes for Ash Wednesday normally are made from blessed palm branches from the previous Palm Sunday. The ashes are sprinkled with Holy Water and incensed before distribution. When do I wash the Ashes off my face? There is no specific instruction on how long ashes are to be worn. You can, in fact, wash them off immediately after the service if you want. Many people choose to wear their ashes for the remainder of the day both as a reminder of their own mortality and as a witness before those around that they are a follower of Christ and are entering into a season of examination and abstinence. What is Fat Tuesday?

As the Church anticipates the Season of Lent, the evening before Ash Wednesday is called "Fat Tuesday" or Shrove Tuesday. Rich foods are consumed as the faithful prepare for time of fasting, abstinence, confession and penance. Customs and practices arose for Fat Tuesday where people would empty their pantries of many items restricted during Lent. One of the terms often used with Mardi Gras is "carnival." We picture huge public celebrations or parades. Anyone who visits one of the big carnivals held on this day usually bring back stories of self-indulgence and hedonism that make most people blush. Ironically, carnival comes from the Latin "carne vale" which means "farewell to meat" or "farewell to flesh" indicating the end to certain pleasures has come. In some parts of the Christian world the commonly used term for the day is "Shrove Tuesday." To "shrive" means to present oneself for confession, penance and absolution. In some early practice, Lent was preceded by Shrovetide the week before Lent. The faithful were called to go to confession during that time in preparation for the Lenten observance.

The Catholic Encyclopedia explanation of Shrovetide includes a sentence from the Anglo-Saxon "Ecclesiastical Institutes." Translated from Theodulphus by Abbot Aelfric about A.D. 1000, it reads, "In the week immediately before Lent everyone shall go to his confessor and confess his deeds and the confessor shall so shrive him as he then may hear by his deeds what he is to do [in the way of penance]." What is Pentecost? Pentecost is a feast day based on the account in the second chapter of the Book of Acts where the Holy Spirit fell on the apostles as they were gathered together in the Upper Room. This is considered the birthday of the Church and the mission to evangelize the whole world. The Catechism of the Catholic Church describes it as follows: "On the day of Pentecost when the seven weeks of Easter had come to an end, Christ's Passover is fulfilled in the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, manifested, given, and communicated as a divine person: of his fullness, Christ, the Lord, pours out the Spirit in abundance. "On that day, the Holy Trinity is fully revealed.

Since that day, the Kingdom announced by Christ has been open to those who believe in him: in the humility of the flesh and in faith, they already share in the communion of the Holy Trinity. By his coming, which never ceases, the Holy Spirit causes the world to enter into the "last days," the time of the Church, the Kingdom already inherited though not yet consummated." (CCC 731,732) What is the significances of the 40 weekdays before Easter? The 40 days of Lent, which precedes Easter is based on two Biblical accounts: the 40 years of wilderness wandering by the Israelites and our Lord's 40 days in the wilderness at which point He was tempted by Satan. Each year the Church observes Lent where we, like Israel and our Lord, are tested. We participate in abstinence, times of fasting, confession and acts of mercy to strengthen our faith and devotional disciplines. The goal of every Christian is to leave Lent a stronger and more vital person of faith than when we entered.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church states, "The seasons and days of penance in the course of the liturgical year (Lent, and each Friday in memory of the death of the Lord) are intense moments of the Church's penitential practice. These times are particularly appropriate for spiritual exercises, penitential liturgies and pilgrimages as signs of penance, voluntary self-denial such as fasting and almsgiving, and fraternal sharing (charitable and missionary works)." (CCC 1438) Why is Lent observed in only some Christian Churches? In the Protestant world, particularly among many evangelical denominations and independent churches, the Church Calendar is not observed. The seasons were omitted along with most of the sacraments and the use of liturgy in their approach to faith. These Christians do observe Christmas and Easter and some might even celebrate Pentecost. When does Lent end? Lent officially ends on Holy Thursday. That is when the "Triduum", great three Days of holy Thursday, Good Friday and Holy Saturday occur leading to Easter. Easter is not only a day but an Octave (eight day) celebration leading to a Season of the Church, Easter Season, which ends on Pentecost.

Ashes Ash Wednesday liturgies are some of the best attended in the entire year. Some people suggest that is just because the Church is giving out something free, but I suspect there are deeper reasons! Ashes are an ancient symbol of repentance (sackcloth and ashes). They also remind us of our mortality ("remember that you are dust") and thus of the day when we will stand before God and be judged. This can be linked easily to the death and resurrection motif of Baptism. To prepare well for the day we die, we must die now to sin and rise to new life in Christ. Being marked with ashes at the beginning of Lent indicates our recognition of the need for deeper conversion of our lives during this season of renewal. Giving something up For most older Catholics, the first thought that Lent brings to mind is giving something up. In my childhood, the standard was to give up candy, a discipline that found suitable reward in the baskets of sugary treats we received on Easter. Some of us even added to the Easter surplus by saving candy all through Lent, stockpiling what we would have eaten had we not promised to give it up.

Some years ago a friend of mine told me that he had urged his children to move beyond giving up candy to giving up some habit of sin that marked their lives. About halfway through Lent he asked the children how they were doing with their Lenten promise. One of his young sons had promised to give up fighting with his brothers and sisters during Lent. When his father asked him how it was going, the boy replied, "I'm doing pretty good, Dad--but boy, I can't wait until Easter!" That response indicates that this boy had only partly understood the purpose of Lenten "giving up." Lent is about conversion, turning our lives more completely over to Christ and his way of life. That always involves giving up sin in some form. The goal is not just to abstain from sin for the duration of Lent but to root sin out of our lives forever. Conversion means leaving behind an old way of living and acting in order to embrace new life in Christ. For catechumens, Lent is a period intended to bring their initial conversion to completion.

Scrutinies: Examining our lives The primary way that the Church assists the catechumens (called the elect after the celebration of the Rite of Election on the First Sunday of Lent) in this conversion process during Lent is through the celebration of the rites called Scrutinies. These ritual celebrations on the Third, Fourth and Fifth Sundays of Lent are communal prayers celebrated around the elect to strengthen them to overcome the power of sin in their lives and to grow in virtue. To scrutinize something means to examine it closely. The community does not scrutinize the catechumens; the catechumens scrutinize their own lives and allow God to scrutinize them and to heal them. There is a danger in celebrating the Scrutinies if the community thinks of the elect as the only sinners in our midst who need conversion. All of us are called to continuing conversion throughout our lives, so we join with the elect in scrutinizing our own lives and praying to God for the grace to overcome the power of sin that still infects our hearts. Many parishes today seek to surface the concrete issues that the elect need to confront; these issues then become the focus of the intercessions during the Scrutinies.

Some parishes extend this discernment process to the wider community so that all are called to name the ways that evil continues to prevent them from living the gospel fully. Even if the parish does not do this in an organized way, every Catholic should spend some time reflecting on what obstacles to gospel living exist in his or her own life. Then when the Scrutinies are celebrated, we will all know that the prayers are for us as well as for the elect. Taking seriously this dynamic of scrutiny and conversion gives us a richer perspective on Lenten "giving up." What we are to give up more than anything else is sin, which is to say we are to give up whatever keeps us from living out our baptismal promises fully. Along with the elect we all need to approach the season of Lent asking ourselves what needs to change in our lives if we are to live the gospel values that Jesus taught us. Our journey through these forty days should be a movement ever closer to Christ and to the way of life he has exemplified for us. Scrutinies and Penance The elect deal with sin through the Scrutinies and through the waters of the font; the already baptized deal with sin through the Sacrament of Penance.

The same kind of reflection that enables all members of the community to share in the Scrutinies can lead the baptized to celebrate this Sacrament of Reconciliation to renew their baptismal commitment. Lent is the primary time for celebrating the Sacrament of Penance, because Lent is the season for baptismal preparation and baptismal renewal. Early Christian teachers called this sacrament "second Baptism," because it is intended to enable us to start again to live the baptismal life in its fullness. Those who experience the loving mercy of God in the Sacrament of Reconciliation should find themselves standing alongside the newly baptized at Easter filled with great joy at the new life God has given all of us. Prayer, fasting and almsgiving The three traditional pillars of Lenten observance are prayer, fasting and almsgiving. The key to renewed appropriation of these practices is to see their link to baptismal renewal. Prayer: More time given to prayer during Lent should draw us closer to the Lord. We might pray especially for the grace to live out our baptismal promises more fully. We might pray for the elect who will be baptized at Easter and support their conversion journey by our prayer.

We might pray for all those who will celebrate the sacrament of reconciliation with us during Lent that they will be truly renewed in their baptismal commitment. Fasting: Fasting is one of the most ancient practices linked to Lent. In fact, the paschal fast predates Lent as we know it. The early Church fasted intensely for two days before the celebration of the Easter Vigil. This fast was later extended and became a 40-day period of fasting leading up to Easter. Vatican II called us to renew the observance of the ancient paschal fast: "...let the paschal fast be kept sacred. Let it be celebrated everywhere on Good Friday and, where possible, prolonged throughout Holy Saturday, so that the joys of the Sunday of the Resurrection may be attained with uplifted and clear mind" (Liturgy, # 110). Fasting is more than a means of developing self-control. It is often an aid to prayer, as the pangs of hunger remind us of our hunger for God. The first reading on the Friday after Ash Wednesday points out another important dimension of fasting. The prophet Isaiah insists that fasting without changing our behavior is not pleasing to God.

"This, rather, is the fasting that I wish: releasing those bound unjustly, untying the thongs of the yoke; setting free the oppressed, breaking every yoke; sharing your bread with the hungry, sheltering the oppressed and the homeless; clothing the naked when you see them, and not turning your back on your own" (Is 58:6-7). Fasting should be linked to our concern for those who are forced to fast by their poverty, those who suffer from the injustices of our economic and political structures, those who are in need for any reason. Thus fasting, too, is linked to living out our baptismal promises. By our Baptism, we are charged with the responsibility of showing Christ's love to the world, especially to those in need. Fasting can help us realize the suffering that so many people in our world experience every day, and it should lead us to greater efforts to alleviate that suffering. Abstaining from meat traditionally also linked us to the poor, who could seldom afford meat for their meals. It can do the same today if we remember the purpose of abstinence and embrace it as a spiritual link to those whose diets are sparse and simple.

That should be the goal we set for ourselves--a sparse and simple meal. Avoiding meat while eating lobster misses the whole point! Almsgiving: It should be obvious at this point that almsgiving, the third traditional pillar, is linked to our baptismal commitment in the same way. It is a sign of our care for those in need and an expression of our gratitude for all that God has given to us. Works of charity and the promotion of justice are integral elements of the Christian way of life we began when we were baptized. Stations of the Cross While this devotion certainly has a place in Lent, the overemphasis given to it in the past tended to distort the meaning of the season. Because the stations were prayed publicly throughout the whole season, the impression was given that Lent was primarily about commemorating the passion and death of Christ. Vatican II strongly endorsed the use of devotions as part of Catholic spirituality, but it also called for their renewal, to harmonize them with the sacred liturgy (see Liturgy #13). The liturgy of Lent focuses on the passion and death of the Lord only near the end of the season, especially with the proclamation of the Passion on Palm (Passion) Sunday and again on Good Friday.

The weekday readings between the Fifth Sunday of Lent and Palm Sunday also point toward the coming Passion, so that might also be an appropriate time to pray the Stations. The earlier weeks of Lent, however, focus much more on Baptism and covenant than on the Passion. When we do pray the Stations of the Cross, we can also connect them with the baptismal character of Lent if we place the stations themselves in the context of the whole paschal mystery. In Baptism we are plunged into the mystery of Christ's death and resurrection, and our baptismal commitment includes a willingness to give our life for others as Jesus did. Recalling his passion and death can remind us that we, too, may be called to suffer in order to be faithful to the call of God. One limitation with the traditional form of the Stations is the absence of the second half of the paschal mystery. The liturgy never focuses on the death of Christ without recalling his resurrection. Some forms of the Stations of the Cross include a 15th station to recall the resurrection as an integral part of the paschal mystery. Some contemporary forms of the Stations also make clear the link between the sufferings of Christ in the first century and the sufferings of Christ's body in the world today.

Such an approach can help us to recognize and admit the ways that we have failed to live up to our baptismal mission to spread the gospel and manifest the love of Christ to those in need. Blessed palms As we near the end of Lent, we celebrate Passion (Palm) Sunday. At the beginning of the liturgy, we receive palms in memory of Christ's triumphal entry into Jerusalem. As a symbol of triumph, the palms point us toward Christ's resurrection and might remind us of the saints in heaven "wearing white robes and holding palm branches in their hands" (Rev 7:9). The white robes remind us of baptismal garments, and the palms suggest their triumph over sin and death through the waters of Baptism. More Lent & Easter Search Search Lent & Easter 'So it is written that the Christ would suffer and on the third day rise from the dead' Luke 24:46 BBC - Religions - Christianity: Lent Shrove Tuesday Pancakes © Shrove Tuesday is the day before Lent starts: the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday. It's a day of penitence, to clean the soul, and a day of celebration as the last chance to feast before Lent begins.

Shrove Tuesday is sometimes called Pancake Day after the fried batter recipe traditionally eaten on this day. But there's more to Shrove Tuesday than pigging out on pancakes or taking part in a public pancake race. The pancakes themselves are part of an ancient custom with deeply religious roots. Penitence Shrove Tuesday gets its name from the ritual of shriving that Christians used to undergo in the past. In shriving, a person confesses their sins and receives absolution for them. When a person receives absolution for their sins, they are forgiven for them and released from the guilt and pain that they have caused them. In the Catholic or Orthodox context, the absolution is pronounced by a priest. This tradition is very old. Over 1000 years ago a monk wrote in the Anglo-Saxon Ecclesiastical Institutes: In the week immediately before Lent everyone shall go to his confessor and confess his deeds and the confessor shall so shrive him. Anglo-Saxon Ecclesiastical Institutes Shrove Tuesday celebrations Shrove Tuesday is a day of celebration as well as penitence, because it's the last day before Lent. Lent is a time of abstinence, of giving things up.

So Shrove Tuesday is the last chance to indulge yourself, and to use up the foods that aren't allowed in Lent. Giving up foods: but not wasting them During Lent there are many foods that some Christians - historically and today - would not eat: foods such as meat and fish, fats, eggs, and milky foods. So that no food was wasted, families would have a feast on the shriving Tuesday, and eat up all the foods that wouldn't last the forty days of Lent without going off. The need to eat up the fats gave rise to the French name Mardi Gras ('fat Tuesday'). Pancakes became associated with Shrove Tuesday as they were a dish that could use up all the eggs, fats and milk in the house with just the addition of flour. The origin of pancake racing Pancake races are thought to have begun in 1445. A woman had lost track of the time on Shrove Tuesday, and was busy cooking pancakes in her kitchen. Suddenly she heard the church bell ringing to call the faithful to church for confession. The woman raced out of her house and ran all the way to church; still holding her frying pan and wearing her apron.

Going for gold in the pancake Olympics One of the most famous pancake races is held at Olney in Buckinghamshire over a 415 yard course. The rules are strict; contestants have to toss their pancake at both the start and the finish, as well as wearing an apron and a scarf. The race is followed by a church service. Since 1950 Olney has competed with Liberal in Kansas, which holds an identical race, to see which town can produce the fastest competitor. After the 2000 race, Liberal was leading with 26 wins to Olney's 24. Ash Wednesday Ash cross marked on forehead © Ash Wednesday is the beginning of Lent for Western Christian churches. It's a day of penitence to clean the soul before the Lent fast. Roman Catholic, Anglican, and some other churches hold special services at which worshippers are marked with ashes as a symbol of death and sorrow for sin. Ash Wednesday services The service draws on the ancient Biblical traditions of covering one's head with ashes, wearing sackcloth, and fasting. The mark of ashes In Ash Wednesday services churchgoers are marked on the forehead with a cross of ashes as a sign of penitence and mortality.

The use of ashes, made by burning palm crosses from the previous Palm Sunday, is very symbolic. God our Father, you create us from the dust of the earth. Grant that these ashes may be for us a sign of our penitence, and a symbol of our mortality. Traditional Ash Wednesday prayer Anointing with ashes © The minister or priest marks each worshipper on the forehead, and says remember you are dust and unto dust you shall return, or a similar phrase based on God's sentence on Adam in Genesis 3:19. The modern practice in Roman Catholic churches nowadays is for the priest to dip his right thumb in the ashes and, making the Sign of the Cross on each person's forehead, say: Remember, that thou art dust, and to dust thou shalt return (or a variation on those words). Keeping the mark At some churches the worshippers leave with the mark still on their forehead so that they carry the sign of the cross out into the world. At other churches the service ends with the ashes being washed off as a sign that the participants have been cleansed of their sins.

Symbolism of the ashes The marking of their forehead with a cross made of ashes reminds each churchgoer that: Death comes to everyone They should be sad for their sins They must change themselves for the better God made the first human being by breathing life into dust, and without God, human beings are nothing more than dust and ashes The shape of the mark and the words used are symbolic in other ways: The cross is a reminder of the mark of the cross made at baptism The phrase often used when the ashes are administered reminds Christians of the doctrine of original sin The cross of ashes may symbolise the way Christ's sacrifice on the cross as atonement for sin replaces the Old Testament tradition of making burnt offerings to atone for sin Where the ashes come from The ashes used on Ash Wednesday are made by burning the palm crosses that were blessed on the previous year's Palm Sunday . Ashes can also be bought from Church suppliers. A bag of ashes big enough for 1000 people costs around £8. Ashes and oil The oil is blessed © The ash is sometimes mixed with anointing oil, which makes sure that the ashes make a good mark.

The use of anointing oil also reminds the churchgoer of God's blessings and of the anointing that took place at their baptism. From Palm Sunday to Ash Wednesday Palm Sunday celebrates Jesus's triumphant entry into Jerusalem, so when the crosses used in the Palm Sunday service are converted to ashes, the worshippers are reminded that defeat and crucifixion swiftly followed triumph. But using the ashes to mark the cross on the believer's forehead symbolises that through Christ's death and resurrection, all Christians can be free from sin.

Question: By what name is the day preceding the Christian fasting period of Lent commonly referred?
Answer: Shrove Tuesday