Since the carnival celebrations are over, it is high time we remembered what comes before the Easter holidays according to the Christian religion.
The eastern Christian churches begin their Lent period on the first Monday after carnival, called Ash Monday or Clear Monday, which is 50 days before Easter. The western Christian churches begin their Lent period on the first Wednesday after carnival, which is called Ash Wednesday. Ash Wednesday is exactly 46 days before Easter.
The Lent period is always exactly 40 days long – eastern Christians fast for exactly 40 consecutive days starting Ash Monday, while western Christianity excludes Sundays. Lent is the way in which Christians decided to honour the period that Jesus Christ had fasted in the wilderness. Christians who observe Lent try to keep themselves to a routine of light eating, abstaining from meat and dairy products, or from specific pleasures such as sweets, alcohol, or even social media as a way to foster simplicity and self-control. Lent allows believers to focus more on their spiritual cleanliness.
Sources
Learn about Ash Wednesday & Lent for Kids, Traditional Catholic Faith Learning Fun Videos. TradKidsTV Youtube channel. Accessed 06/03/2020
Lent. Encyclopaedia Britannica. Accessed 06/03/2020
What is Lent? When does Lent start? What to do during Lent? 40 Facts. Accessed 06/03/2020
Written by Maria Papamargariti, Greek and English Philologist, Substitute Teacher in ISL School (Luxembourg) and Study Visitor at the Terminology Coordination Unit of the European Parliament in Luxembourg. She holds a Bachelor in Greek Language and Literature (Philology) and a Bachelor in English Language and Literature, both from the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens. She has published three books in the field of children’s literature, Books publication link. She speaks English, French and Greek. At present, she is completing her Master Studies in Learning and Communication in Multilingual and Multicultural Contexts in the University of Luxembourg.