Ash Wednesday, Palm Sunday, Holy Week
In the Western Christian tradition, Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of Lent and falls 46 days before Easter Sunday. The date changes each year because Easter is on the first Sunday following the first full moon after the spring equinox.
Palm Sunday, one week before Easter and the sixth Sunday of Lent, commemorates Jesus’ triumphant entry into Jerusalem, when he was greeted by crowds of people waving palm branches. The final week of Lent, beginning with Palm Sunday, is known as Holy Week. It includes Maundy Thursday (commemorating the Last Supper), Good Friday (marking Christ’s crucifixion) and Holy Saturday (the day Jesus lay in the tomb).
Although Lent technically ends at sundown on Maundy Thursday, also known as Holy Thursday, the Lenten season continues until Easter Sunday. At this point, the 50-day celebratory Easter season begins.
Eastern Orthodox Christians observe a different version of Lent, known as “Great Lent.” Because their churches calculate Easter using the Julian calendar, it often results in different dates for the Lenten season. Great Lent takes place over the six weeks before Palm Sunday, and fasting continues during the Holy Week of Orthodox Easter.
Who Celebrates Lent?
By the fourth century, Lent was closely associated with preparing new converts for baptism, but it eventually became customary for other Christians to observe the tradition as a way to refocus on their own faith. Today, Lent is observed across many Christian denominations, including Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Anglicans, Episcopalians, Lutherans, Methodists and Presbyterians.
Lent Fasting Rules
During the early centuries of Christianity, observance of fasting for Lent was very strict, with people in many regions abstaining from all meat, fish and animal products and limiting themselves to one meal per day, consumed late in the afternoon. A small meal or snack was later added to sustain energy and strength for working. Over time, the rules were relaxed further. Today, some people who observe Lent fast and abstain from meat on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday. On the other Fridays of Lent, some will abstain from meat and might choose to eat fish or seafood; these cold-blooded, sea-dwelling creatures are generally exempted from the no-meat rule.
Even followers who do not fast are encouraged to give up something for Lent as a sacrifice, whether a habit (like watching TV or using social media) or something to eat or drink (such as coffee, alcohol or chocolate). Some observers of Lent choose to add positive practices instead, such as personal prayer, reading scripture daily or volunteering, as a way of refocusing themselves on their faith and spiritual well-being.