Even if you're not a Christian, you're still probably familiar with some of the seemingly-odd practices associated with the season of Lent. Typically starting some time in mid-February, it is a season of prayer, fasting and alms-giving that prepares Christians for the feast of Easter in the spring. The season has a long, rich history and as a result has developed many traditions. Even if you are a Christian, you may still wonder why it is important to adhere to some of the Lenten traditions. Here your questions are answered! (Disclaimer: this article focuses on the Roman Catholic tradition.)
1. Wearing ashes on Ash Wednesday
This day marks the beginning of the Lenten season and is a solemn day of reflection and repentance. Catholics go to mass to receive a mark of ashes in the shape of the cross on their forehead. The ashes mark them to the rest of the world as faithful men and women who acknowledge themselves as sinners but hope that the forty days to come can bring them penance and reform. The ashes connect the beginning of Lent to the end because they are made from the burnt palm branches from the previous year's Palm Sunday.
2. 40 days
40 is an important number in the Bible that symbolizes trial and preparation. God sent a flood that lasted 40 days and nights. The Israelites wandered in the desert for 40 years. The 40 days of Lent commemorate the forty days that Jesus spent fasting in the desert tempted by the Devil preparing for his ministry.
3. Fasting
The rules for fasting have varied wildly through the history of the Church. The early Christians in Jerusalem fasted for 40 days as an act of solidarity and remembrance of Christ's 40-day fast in the desert. Some fasting traditions were more extreme than others, but they all have the common theme of hunger. This hunger is mean to remind the faithful of the hunger they all have than cannot be satisfied by bread alone but rather by faith in Christ. Today the standard fasting practice is for adults in good health only on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday. This means eating one large meal during the day plus small snacks to keep up strength.
4. No meat!
The roots of this practice actually have nothing to do with Lent. The first mention of abstinence is in St. Paul's letter to Timothy. Abstaining from meat on Friday's was a suggested way of helping new converts to Christianity begin to adhere to Jewish dietary practices (because back then Christianity was still a sect of Judaism). The practice was continued and is still observed today but now for a different reason. Catholics abstain from meat as a sacrifice to God. Meat is so good that we should give it up sometimes as a sign of humility to God. But why Fridays? Because Jesus's passion was on a Friday, so it is an extra-solemn day.
5. But fish is OK...
There is a legend that a medieval pope allowed fish as an exception to the Lenten abstinence rules because of his connections to struggling fishing guilds, but this has been proved to be untrue. The more theological answer is provided by St. Thomas Aquinas in his "Summa Theologica." Put simply, he says Lent is a time if simplicity and sacrifice. We give up eating land-locked animals because they are tasty and extravagant. Fish is far more simple and far less desirable, so is acceptable for Lent.
6. Giving things up
The spirit of this practice intents to bring a person closer to God through denial of self and embrace of the Lord. By giving up something material that distracts from prayer and faith, a person can better feel God's presence in his or her life. It is not meant to be a challenge to outlast the 40 days; rather it is a chance to reform behaviors that potentially detract from out spiritual life in the hope that, after Lent is over, a permanent change for the better has been made.
