octoberlands asked: could you explain lent to me? =)
Sure =).
It’s primarily a Catholic practice, though other Christians practice it as well (my family was Episcopalian, for example).
Basically what it is, is a symbolic gesture of remembrance and appreciation for what Jesus went through for us before his crucifixion. Lent begins on Ash Wednesday (which is why you might have seen people walking around with a ash cross marked on their heads), and it lasts for 40 days, up until Easter. The 40 days represent the time Christ spent in the Garden of Gethsemane being tempted by Satan, and the time of his crucifixion up until his resurrection on Easter.
During those 40 days, people who practice Lent give up something that’s really hard for them to sacrifice. It can be anything… like I’m probably going to give up some of my time every day to study the text of the Bible, which is hard for me to do because I’m a student with very limited free time. The important thing is that it’s a struggle to give up whatever it is you’re giving up, because you’re showing that you can sacrifice something for God just as He sacrificed for us. It’s impossible to make the sacrifice that He made, of course, or really anything close… but like I said it’s symbolic. The gesture is more important than anything else.
You fast from whatever it is you’re giving up for 40 days straight, though some Christians believe that on Sundays you can have a reprieve and indulge in whatever it is you’re fasting from. That’s pretty much up to personal preference in my book, since there aren’t really many regulations about Lent. If you think that it would be too hard to do a full 40 days of fasting and you’d be tempted to cheat, then take the one day a week to indulge. But if you want to try and go all the way, then you can try to do that as well.
Some people tend to fast from food and stuff from sunrise to sunset on Ash Wednesday too, but again that’s up to personal preference. I don’t recommend trying it if you’re a student like me and you need to have energy for classes, or if you have a job you need to get to. People also attend a special mass/ service on Ash Wednesday as well, which is where they get the ash cross marked on their foreheads.
The day before Lent is called Fat Tuesday (Mardi Gras), and it’s basically a big celebration where you indulge in whatever you’re giving up, and prepare for your time of fasting and spiritual reflection. People have really perverted this day into something very non-Christian (just take a look at New Orleans…), but it’s originally a Christian holiday.
Am I forgetting anything? Hmmm…
Oh yeah! During Lent you can’t eat meat on Fridays. Fish is fine, but no beef, pork, chicken, etc. I’m honestly not entirely educated on why that is, but you can probably find the answer to that on google if you’re really curious.
Lent isn’t a required practice of Christians by any means, but I think that it’s kind of cleansing experience… and it helps you to grow closer to God. You don’t have to practice it if you don’t want to, but more power to you if you do =).
If you (or anyone else who’s reading this) is interested in practicing Lent for the first time, Fat Tuesday is the day after President’s Day this year (Feb. 21), and Ash Wednesday is the day after.
