What is Lent?

If you don't observe Lent, you've likely heard a friend, co-worker, or acquaintance say they've given something up for lent. Popular sacrifices are chocolate, junk food, soda, and television; an enjoyable activity or indulgence is given up to remind the Lent observer of Christ's pending death. According to Merriam-Webster, Lent is "the 40 weekdays from Ash Wednesday to Easter observed by Roman Catholic, Eastern, and some Protestant churches as a period of penitence and fasting." Chances are, if you're Christian, the church you attend will recognize Lent in some way. Lent lasts forty days to represent the forty days of suffering and temptation Jesus spent in the desert, the idea being that if Jesus could withstand forty days of temptation from Satan, Lent observers reason they can handle forty days without chocolate.

According to AmericanCatholic.org, Catholics ages 18 to 59 are required to fast on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday. Catholics 14 and older are required to abstain from meat on Ash Wednesday, Good Friday, and all Fridays during Lent. Pope Paul VI declared this practice in 1966, and in 1983 it was written into Catholic canon law. This is truly a Catholic practice. Mammal meat is a luxury, a festive food, which is not appropriate for the somber tone of Lent. Fish is more abundant and more appropriate.

Being a United Methodist, I am not required to give something up for lent. However, my particular church encourages it, but with a little twist. In an activity we call "Give it Up 4," congregation members are encouraged to give up an indulgence they usually spend money on (for example, chips from the vending machine or coffee from Dunkin' Donuts), and instead donate that money to one of four chosen charities. (Feel free to steal this idea-it worked very well!) Others view lent as a time begin an activity instead of end one. Some will go to church every Sunday, or read a chapter of the Bible every night, or donate pet food to a local animal shelter every Saturday. Although this practice strays away from the "resisting temptation" theme of Lent, it encourages spiritual discipline, another theme of Lent.

Besides the forty days Jesus spent in the desert, forty is a significant biblical number. Some examples: Genesis's flood lasted for forty days and forty nights (Genesis 7:4), Moses stayed on the mountain for forty days and forty nights (Exodus 24:18), Eli led Israel for forty years (1 Samuel 4:8), King David reigned for forty years (2 Samuel 5:4), Solomon reigned for forty years (2 Chronicles 9:30), and Jesus appears to the disciples for forty days after his resurrection (Acts 1:3).

Churches often use the color purple as Lenten decoration. Purple is a color associated with mourning, and also with royalty. Jesus' death and resurrection encompass both of these aspects. Many churches will decorate with a cross as a focal point (or add another for emphasis). Lenten Bible studies, breakfasts, and prayer times are often held. It is a time of self-examination and simplicity. Lent ends with Holy Week, which includes Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Easter. On Easter all of the Lenten sacrifices can be indulged in once again. Easter is a feast and celebration marking not only the end of Lent but the beginning of life.

To those observing Lent, good luck. To those Christians who aren't, consider it, and see what Easter means to you this year.

BBC, "Religion and Ethics-Christianity"
Dennis Bratcher, "The Season of Lent," CRI/Voice