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Lent

Lent marks the start of the Easter cycle in the Christian Church

During the 40 days before Easter, Roman Catholics are supposed to abstain from all bodily pleasures, including the consumption of meat.

This is intended to remember the fasting of Jesus, who spent 40 days in the desert before beginning his ministry.

The word "lent" is derived from the Anglo-Saxon 'lencten' which literally means "spring". 'Lencten' has a root in the germanic word for long, which assigned itself to Spring as the days become longer. In several countries, lent marks the start of spring. For example, in Greece, Clean Monday (Ash Monday) is taken to be the first day of spring.

The Easter period influences a range of festivals and events. The following is an overview of the events. For many of the events, click the title to read more about an individual event.

Ash Monday
Marks the first day of Great Lent in the Orthodox church.

Fasching
Monday before Ash Wednesday.

Carnival
A celebration of the coming of Easter (and Spring) before the period of Lent begins.

Shrove Tuesday/Pancake Tuesday/Mardi Gras (Fat Tuesday)

The Tuesday before lent is the last chance to feast for 40 days. This evening would be an opportunity for families to eat certain foods that would be banned during Lent, such as Meat, Eggs, Flour, Milk and fatty foods. Ticking many of the boxes for these foods in it's ingredients, Pancakes became popular in England as way of using up such items that remained in pantries.

Shrove Tuesday gets it's name from the practice of 'shriving', an older term for the practice of confession. Before the onset of Lent, christians would confess and receive forgiveness from sins so that they could enter Lent guilt-free.

Ash Wednesday

Ash Wednesday marks the start of Lent. The custom was that churchgoers would be marked on the forehead with a cross of ash to symbolise death and regret for past sins.

Traditionally the ashes are created from burning the palms used in the church on Palm Sunday the previous year. Palm Sunday marked the arrival of Jesus into Jerusalem after his 40 days and nights in the desert.

Mothering Sunday
On the fourth Sunday in Lent in England, families attended the church they were baptised in (their Mother church).

Maundy Thursday
Commemorates Jesus' last supper with his disciples

Good Friday
Good Friday occurs on the Friday before Easter. The day commemorates the Crucifixion of Jesus.

Easter Sunday
Celebrates the resurrection of Jesus from the dead after his death by crucifixion

Ascension Day
Commemorates the ascension of Jesus into heaven forty days after resurrection.

WhitMonday
Commemorates the coming of the Holy Spirit in the form of flames to the Apostles.

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