As the Lent season is upon us let’s take a quick crash course on what Lent actually is. So in other words, welcome to Lent 101.
Lent is a significant season in the year for Christians. It’s a time of self-reflection where we are to confess our failings and sins to resolve to live a more godly life. It lasts for just over six weeks leading up to Easter. Traditionally it was a time of fasting from certain foods such as eggs, meat, fish and fats. Nowadays people might give up a luxury food such as chocolate. They may also give up an activity such as using social media or drinking alcohol. In modern times we can basically give up whatever we have an “addiction” or craving to.
It is called Lent because it is the time of the year when days are lengthening in the northern hemisphere. Just like Easter, Lent falls on different dates each year. Christians in different church traditions around the world celebrate slightly different periods of Lent. Some church buildings are made to look more plain during Lent with flowers and other decorations removed, and other church buildings do the complete opposite. The first day of Lent is Ash Wednesday. Many Christians go to church that day to seek forgiveness from God for what they have done wrong. In most churches the priest will take some ash and mark a sign of the cross on the forehead of each person, this is a symbol of their remorse.
The last week of Lent is Holy Week. This week commemorates the final days before Jesus’ execution on a cross. It begins with Palm Sunday which marks the day Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey. Many churches give out small palm crosses to remember the day. These are the crosses that are burnt the following year to provide ashes for Ash Wednesday. Later in Holy Week, as Lent comes to an end, some Christians mark significant days in the Christian year. The most popular one is Good Friday, when Jesus was put on trial and executed. Lent ends with Easter Sunday, the day Christians celebrate Jesus rising from the dead. And that’s the end of Lent 101, have a great Lenten season!
