The ashes of this holiday symbolize two main things: death and repentance. According to Britannica. Irenaeus, Pope St. Victor I, and St. Athanasius all seem to have written about Lent during their ministries. As far as the exact rules and practices of Lent, those have changed over the years. The Eastern church also restricts the use of wine, oil, and dairy products. In the West, these fasting rules have gradually been relaxed.
Catholic, Orthodox, and many but not all Protestants appreciate and observe Lent. The Bible commands a lifestyle of worship and devotion that looks considerably like Lent. Therefore, while the word is absent in the Bible, the reality of Lent is woven throughout the whole of Scripture, as we have discovered.
In his Gospel Coalition article Evangelicals Embracing and Rejecting Lent , Trevin Wax gives us an important reminder regardless of whether we personally observe Lent:. Because these wings are no longer wings to fly But merely vans to beat the air The air which is now thoroughly small and dry Smaller and dryer than the will Teach us to care and not to care Teach us to sit still.
Pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death Pray for us now and at the hour of our death. In some parts of the world, the day before Ash Wednesday is celebrated as Mardi Gras or Shrove Tuesday , and can involve anything from pancakes and self-examination to wild partying sometimes to mark the end of Carnival.
In , with many Mardi Gras celebrations canceled in the pandemic, people celebrated in different ways. Most people know Lent as a time to fast from something — chocolate, alcohol, sex, and social media are all popular choices in the US.
LifeWay Research, which studies subjects of interest to churchgoers and pastors, found that in , 61 percent of Catholics planned to fast during Lent, while 28 percent of evangelicals intended to fast. In , the same study found that only 16 percent of evangelicals planned to fast during Lent. Protestants in particular tend to avoid specific church-mandated practices when it comes to fasts we can probably thank Martin Luther for that , so practices vary widely.
Some Catholics keep a more rigid version of the fast. The most notable and well-known practice is abstaining from eating meat on Fridays, sometimes in addition to giving up something else for Lent. But even less strict Catholics may fast from meat on Fridays during Lent, and all Catholics are encouraged to skip meat on Good Friday. Fish is permitted, for reasons that are fascinating and somewhat arcane, which is why those who went to Catholic school often grew up eating fish at lunch on Friday, and why church-hosted fish frys are a popular Friday occurrence during Lent.
Prayer and almsgiving giving extra money to the poor are also emphasized during Catholic Lent observance. Orthodox Christianity is far more strict about the fast. In fact, strict Orthodox observers fast from meat, fish, eggs, dairy products, olive oil, and alcohol every Wednesday and Friday. During Lent, a fairly complicated fast is observed: Every weekday, Orthodox Christians abstain from all of those products.
Additionally, during the first week of Lent, worshippers may fast entirely from Monday morning through Wednesday evening, and then observe the strict fast the rest of the week and throughout the Lenten period. Wine and oil are added on weekends in the second through sixth weeks. And Orthodox worshippers may fast from Thursday night through Saturday night before Easter.
Observance can vary from individual to individual. Lenten practices are why we have Easter eggs — the faithful would abstain from eggs and dairy during Lent, but in the days before refrigeration, the dairy then would spoil. Eggs, however, keep fresh much longer and would still be good when it was time to break the fast.
But your purpose for fasting will probably differ, depending on your motivation to participate. Christianity is hardly the only religion in which fasting is part of the yearly observance. Contact us Sign up for newsletters. Log In Register now My account. What is Ash Wednesday? By David Hughes. Jesus also is depicted as being led into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil for 40 days.
Many people want to know what they should give up for Lent to prove your devotion. Many people give up things that they love, such as candy or sweets, favorite foods, television or — gasp! The reason for their self-sacrifice: Christians want to replicate the hardships felt by Jesus during his time in the wilderness. Facebook Twitter Email. Why Christians wear ashes for Ash Wednesday and give up their favorite things for Lent.
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