Lent

In Western Christianity, Lent is the period before the Christian holy day of Easter. Eastern Christianity calls this period Great Lent, to distinguish it from the Winter Lent or Advent that precedes Christmas (though in Greek, the two periods are the "Great Fast" and the "Nativity Fast"). The rest of this article will discuss Lent as it is understood and practiced in Western Christianity, except when as noted.

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It covers the forty days before Easter, not including Sundays. The Wednesday beginning Lent is known as Ash Wednesday. The dating of Easter, which determines that of Lent, is discussed elsewhere. Roughly speaking, Lent starts near the end of Winter in the northern hemisphere and ends near the beginning of Spring. The earliest Lent can begin is on February 4 and the latest it can end is April 24 (if Easter Sunday should occur on April 25).

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The Germanic origin of the word Lent (e.g. Anglo-Saxon lencten) originally meant the season of Spring, referring to the lengthening of days as reflected in an Anglo-Saxon word for March: Lenctenmonat. It has substituted since Anglo-Saxon times for the more significant Latin term quadragesima or the "fortieth day" before Easter, which is preserved in the Romance languages' terms for the Lenten season. Lent is also preserved in the common Dutch word for the spring season, which is called Lente.

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Whereas Easter celebrates the resurrection of Jesus after his death on the Cross, Lent is concerned with preparation for Holy Week (also known as Passion Week), which recalls the events leading up to and including Jesus' crucifixion by Rome. This took place around AD 33, in Roman-occupied Jerusalem in Judea province.

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Western Christianity: Western Christianity refers to Catholicism, Protestantism, and Anglicanism (which is also usually included in the Protestant category). As opposed to Eastern Christianity, it developed and came to be predominant in Western Europe, hence the name....

Christian: :This article is about the religious people known as Christians; for the 1980s British music group, see The Christians.For other uses of the term Christian, see Christian (disambiguation)....

Easter: Easter is considered the most important religious holiday of the Christian liturgical year, observed in March, April, or May to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus from the dead after his death by crucifixion (see Good Friday), which Christians believe happened at about this time of year around AD 3...