Lent is a 40-day period of reflection and preparation before the Easter Celebration. Lent involves giving up food and certain activities. Lent begins on Ash Wednesday each year in February and ends on Easter Day. It is believed that Ash Wednesday was created by the Roman Catholic church in the 6th Century by Pope Gregory the Great. The Ash placed on a person’s forehead is a statement that that person is a Christian and is taking part in Lent. The ash is made from the palm branches used during Palm Sunday that celebrates the day Jesus entered Jerusalem and his path was covered with palms. Lent is never mentioned in the Bible. Daniel 9:3 is the first mentioning of fasting and ashes. This verse reads, “Then I turned my face to the Lord God, seeking him by prayer and pleas for mercy with fasting and sackcloth and ashes.” Many people credit this verse as the beginning of the practice of Lent. Lent allows Christians to replicate the 40-day period that Jesus while He was fasting in the desert and battling the temptations of the Devil. During Lent, every person 14 years of age and older must give up eating any meat. On Ash Wednesday and Good Friday (End of Lent), everyone is supposed to fast. Historically Lent is celebrated by the Catholic Church and was used to prepare converts into the Church. Some Baptist and evangelical church groups also celebrate Lent and have done so for years. Lent is practiced by most Christian groups, including Roman Catholics, Episcopalians, Presbyterians, Methodists, Anglicans, and Lutherans.
The Holy week started on Sunday when Jesus entered Jerusalem riding a donkey and people paved his way with palm leaves which became known as Palm Sunday. We then have Holy Wednesday or Ash Wednesday which reminds everyone of Judas Iscariots’ betrayal of Jesus, this is followed by Maundy Thursday which is the day the Last Supper took place. Maundy is the last day of Lent but not the end of the Holy Week. Good Friday is the day Jesus was crucified. Good Friday was anything but good. During the days of Jesus, the word “Good” mean pious or holy. So, when you say “Good Friday” you are saying “Pious Friday” or “Holy Friday”. Some people will argue that Good Friday is a corruption of “God’s Friday”. In hindsight, that terrible Friday was the beginning of the weekend that led up to the Resurrection of Jesus. The weekend that Jesus celebrated his victory over death and sin which brings the Holy Week to Easter. Easter is the greatest, most important, pinnacle of the Christian celebrations.