Lent, a period of repentance and spiritual cleansing for Christians, starts today with Ash Wednesday. The forty day period ends with Easter Sunday on April 24.
Most Christians perform some form of a fasting ritual during Lent in honor of Christ’s forty days of temptation in the wilderness. Lent’s forty days also resembles the time it took the Hebrews, God’s chosen people, to escape from the Egyptian Pharaohs in the Old Testament.
In addition to fasting, most Christians go through the 14 stations of the Cross, reflecting on the trials of Jesus from the time he was caught, to the time he was entombed.
Prayer, fasting, and giving alms, are the three main tenants of Lent, and are all designed to help prepare Christians to celebrate Christ’s resurrection on Easter Sunday.
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