What are you giving up for Lent? Working in a Christian environment, I have been hearing this question a lot lately. The thing is, I didn’t grow up in a church that observed Lent and quite honestly, I didn’t even know what it was until I went to college and heard about it from a friend. For those of you who are in the same boat that I was- here is a quick overview:
Lent is a forty-day period before Easter. It always begins on Ash Wednesday. Sundays are actually skipped in the counting of the forty days because Sundays commemorate the Resurrection. This year, Lent began on March 9, 2011 and will end on April 23 2011, which is the day before Easter.
But what is Lent exactly? Lent is a season of soul-searching and repentance. It is a season for reflection and taking stock. It is a unique opportunity for believers to reflect on Christ-His suffering and His sacrifice, His life, death, burial and resurrection.
Lent originated way back in the earliest days of the Church as a preparatory time for Easter, when the faithful rededicated themselves and when converts were instructed in the faith and prepared for baptism. By observing the forty days of Lent, Christians are imitating Jesus’ withdrawal into the wilderness for forty days.
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