Lent is a 40 day season of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving that begins on Ash Wednesday before Easter (Technically 46, as Sundays are not included in the count). Officially named "Day of Ashes,"

Lent is often described as a time of preparation and an opportunity to go deeper with God. This implies that it’s a time for personal reflection that prepares people’s hearts and minds for remembering Jesus’ life, death, and bodily resurrection.

It is the six-week period leading up to Easter. It’s one of the most important times of year for many Christians around the world, particularly those within the Anglican, Catholic, and Orthodox traditions.

Followers attend mass on Ash Wednesday. The priest distributes ashes by lightly rubbing the sign of the cross with ashes onto the worshippers' foreheads. This tradition is meant to identify the faithful with Jesus Christ. In the Bible, ashes are a symbol of repentance and death. Thus, observing Ash Wednesday at the start of the Lenten season represents one's repentance from sin as well as Jesus Christ's sacrificial death to set followers free from sin and death.

History Of Lent

Early Christians felt the importance of Easter called for special preparations. The first mention of 40 days of fasting in preparation for Easter is found in the Canons of Nicaea (AD 325). It is thought that the tradition may have grown from the early church practice of baptismal candidates undergoing 40 days of fasting in preparation for their baptism at Easter. Eventually, the season evolved into a period of spiritual devotion for the whole church. During the initial centuries, the Lenten fast was very strict but relaxed over time.

Cited from,

"Fairchild, Mary. "Learn What Lent Means to Christians." Learn Religions, Aug. 27, 2020, learnreligions.com/what-is-lent-700774".

Why is there Lent?

The period of lent is a mirror of the 40 days that Jesus spent in the wilderness, fasting, praying, and being tempted by Satan before he started his public ministry. Jesus had gone to the desert to prepare his soul for an intense three-year period of healing people, preaching, and ministering, at the end of which he was crucified by the Roman Empire and religious leaders.

The tradition behind Lent is that each year, Christians will mimic Jesus’s actions in the wilderness. Lent is sometimes called the “Great Fast.” This is a period in which Christians are meant to give up some comfort or adopt some spiritual practice that leads to self-examination, repentance from sin, and, ultimately, the creation of a new spirit all in anticipation of greater dedication to serving God.

Multiple Account And Significance of the 40-days

• Jesus retreated into the wilderness, where He fasted for 40 days and was tempted by the devil ( Matthew 4:1-2, Mark 1:12-13, Luke 4:1-2).

• The Hebrew people wandered 40 years in the desert while traveling to the Promised Land (Numbers 14:33)

• Jonah's prophecy of judgment gave 40 days to the city of Nineveh in which to repent or be destroyed (Jonah 3:4).

• Moses spent 40 days on Mount Sinai with God (Exodus 24:18)

• Elijah spent 40 days and nights walking to Mount Horeb (1 Kings 19:8)

• God sent 40 days and nights of rain in the great flood of Noah (Genesis 7:4)

Who Celebrates Lent?

While some Christians dutifully follow the customs of Lent, others do not participate in traditional Lenten practices such as strict fasting. Christians that honor and abide by the historical Lent tradition include Anglicans, Roman Catholics, Eastern Orthodox, Lutherans, and Methodists. But, mostly these days Lenten is only observed and seen for Catholics which has been misunderstood.

Lenten Verses

• 1 Timothy 4:1-5

• Isaiah 58:6-7

• Colossians 2:16-17

• Matthew 6:16-18

• Joel 2:12-13

• 1 Peter 5:6

• 1 Peter 1:3

• Mark 1:15

• Genesis 3:19

When does Lent start?

Lent follows the liturgical calendar, and the exact date that Lent falls each year changes. Lent begins on Ash Wednesday, which is always held 46 days (40 fasting days and 6 Sundays) before Easter Sunday.

Why the Name Ash Wednesday?

The day gets its name from the traditional blessing of the ashes taken after the burning of Palm branches (or crosses made from Palm leaves) from the previous year’s Palm Sunday celebrate, In some churches the ashes are used to draw a cross on the head of people to mark the beginning of their Lent fast. The drawing of a cross is often done while repeating the words “Repent and believe in the Gospel” (Mark 1:15) or “Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return” (Genesis 3:19).

Tradition of Lent

1. Prayer

2. Fasting

3. Almsgiving

How to Practice Lent?

Whether you attend a church that observes Lenten traditions or not, you can use Lent as a time to reflect, repent and grow. Here are three things you can do this Lenten season,

1. Repent of sin

2. Set a prayer time.

3. Choose something to fast from.

4. Partner with other believers

5. Fast like a sacrifice, not as a duty.