Lent

February, March: Lent

Lent

Lent a Christian observance beginning after Shrovetide. It lasts forty days, excluding Sundays, beginning on Ash Wednesday and ending on Easter Sunday. Easter falls on the Sunday that coincides with the first Sunday after the full moon following the Spring Equinox. Traditionally, Lent is a penitential time with prayer, penance, repentance, almsgiving, and self-denial. It’s the annual commemoration of Holy Week, marking the Death and Resurrection of Jesus. During Lent, devote Christians fast by giving up decadent foods and/or luxuries.

Ash Wednesday

Ash Wednesday marks the first day of Lent. Many Christians attend morning services. They are blessed and a cross of ashes is drawn on their foreheads. This is to renew their faith in God and to apologize for wrongs committed during the previous year.

Qadragesima Sunday

Quadragesima Sunday is the Sunday occurring after Ash Wednesday. In Roman Catholic tradition, it’s the first Sunday during the holy season of Lent. Like on other Sundays of Lent, it’s customary to dispense from the fast, as Sundays are not counted among the forty days of Lent.

Palm Sunday

Palm Sunday is the Sunday before Easter. It celebrates Jesus’ triumphal arrival in Jerusalem for the Jewish festival of Passover. When he arrived, people lining the streets waved palm branches to welcome him.

Holy Thursday

Holy Thursday also known as Maundy Thursday is the Thursday before Easter, and commemorates the last Supper and the betrayal by Judas. During the meal, Jesus took bread and wine and shared them with his disciples. It’s also known as “Green Thursday,” and vegetables, herbs, and green-colored foods are eaten.

Good Friday

Good Friday or Holy Friday is the Friday before Easter, and remembers the arrest, trial, crucifixion, death, and burial of Jesus Christ. On Good Friday, Christians remember the day when Jesus was crucified on a cross. Some Christians fast on Good Friday and many churches hold a special service. Churches are not decorated on Good Friday. In some churches, pictures and statues are covered with purple cloth for mourning.

Holy Saturday

Holy Saturday, also known as Easter Even and the Great Sabbath, is the day in which Jesus rested in the grave.

Easter Sunday

Easter Sunday is the last day of Lent, the day Jesus Christ rose from the dead.

Upcoming Dates

  • 2024: February 14
  • 2025: March 5
  • 2026: February 18

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⇴ image purchased from vecteezy

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