,
religious processions during the season of Lent are often accompanied by a military escort both for security and parade.
Ceuta, Spain Three traditional practices are to be taken up with renewed vigour during Lent; these are known as the three pillars of Lent: During Lent, Christian churches remove flowers from their
chancels and veil
crucifixes, religious statues that show the triumphant Christ, and other elaborate religious symbols in violet fabrics. The
custom of veiling is typically practised the last two weeks of Lent, beginning on the fifth Sunday of Lent (known as
Judica Sunday or
Passion Sunday) until
Good Friday. During the Good Friday liturgy in Christian churches of the Catholic and Lutheran traditions, a wooden cross is venerated. The same cross is often decorated with flowers on Easter Sunday.
Pre-Lenten observances During
pre-Lent, it is customary for Christians to ponder what
Lenten sacrifices they will make for Lent. The pre-Lenten period concludes with the opportunity for a last round of merrymaking, known as
Carnival,
Shrovetide, or
Fastelavn, before the start of the sombre Lenten season. The traditions of carrying Shrovetide rods and consuming Shrovetide buns after attending church are celebrated. On the final day of the season,
Shrove Tuesday or
Mardi Gras, many traditional Christians, such as
Catholics,
Evangelical-Lutherans and
Anglicans, among others "make a special point of self-examination, of considering what wrongs they need to repent, and what amendments of life or areas of spiritual growth they especially need to ask God's help in dealing with." As such, many churches (particulary those of the Catholic and Lutheran traditions) offer the sacrament of
Confession on Shrove Tuesday. During Shrovetide, many churches place a basket in the
narthex to collect the previous year's
Holy Week palm branches that were blessed and distributed during the
Palm Sunday liturgies; on Shrove Tuesday, churches burn these
palms to make the ashes used during the services held on the very next day, Ash Wednesday. In historically
Lutheran nations, Shrovetide is known as
Fastelavn. After attending the
Mass on
Shrove Sunday, congregants enjoy Shrovetide buns (fastelavnsboller), "round sweet buns that are covered with icing and filled with cream and/or jam." In these countries,
pancakes are associated with Shrove Tuesday because they are a way to use up rich foods such as eggs, milk, and sugar – rich foods which are not eaten during the season. The Carnival celebrations which in many cultures traditionally precede Lent are seen as a last opportunity for excess before Lent begins. Some of the most famous are the
Carnival of Barranquilla, the
Carnival of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, the
Carnival of Venice,
Cologne Carnival, the
New Orleans Mardi Gras, the
Rio de Janeiro carnival, and the
Trinidad and Tobago Carnival. In stark contrast to traditions of merrymaking and feasting, Oriental Orthodox Churches practise a pre-Lenten fast in preparation for Lent which is immediately followed by the fast of Great Lent without interruption. One example is the traditional
Assyrian festival of
Hano Qritho, in which a feast is prepared from
bulgur, meat and eggs before the start of fasting.
Fasting and Lenten sacrifice ,
Brooklyn Museum There are traditionally 40 days in Lent; these are marked by fasting, both from foods and festivities, and by other acts of
penance. Fasting is maintained for all 40 days of Lent (regardless of how they are enumerated; see
above). Historically, fasting and abstinence have been maintained continuously for the weekdays of the whole Lenten season, with Sundays being days of abstinence only. The making of a
Lenten sacrifice, in which Christians give up a personal pleasure for the duration of 40 days, is a traditional practice during Lent. During
Shrovetide and especially on
Shrove Tuesday, the day before the start of the Lenten season, many Christians finalize their decision with respect to what
Lenten sacrifices they will make for Lent. While making a Lenten sacrifice, it is customary to
pray for strength to keep it; many often wish others for doing so as well, e.g. "May God bless your Lenten sacrifice." In addition, some believers add a regular spiritual discipline, to bring them closer to God, such as reading a Lenten
daily devotional. For Catholics, Lutherans, Moravians, Anglicans, United Protestants, and Lent-observing Methodists and Reformed Christians, the Lenten penitential season ends after the
Easter Vigil Mass or
Sunrise service. Orthodox Christians also break their fast after the
Paschal Vigil, a service which starts around 11:00 pm on Holy Saturday, and which includes the Paschal celebration of the
Divine Liturgy of St.
John Chrysostom. At the end of the service, the priest blesses cheese, eggs, flesh meats, and other items that the faithful have been abstaining from for the duration of Great Lent. Lenten traditions and liturgical practices are less common, less binding, and sometimes non-existent among some
liberal and
progressive Christians. A greater emphasis on the anticipation of
Easter Sunday is often encouraged more than the penitence of Lent or Holy Week. Some Christians as well as
secular groups also interpret the Lenten fast in a positive tone, not as renunciation but as contributing to causes such as environmental stewardship and improvement of health. Even some
atheists find value in the Christian tradition and observe Lent.
Lenten Black Fast Historically, using the early Christian form known as the
Black Fast, the observant does not consume food for a whole day until the evening, and at sunset, Christians traditionally break the Lenten fast of that day with a
vegetarian supper (no food or drink is consumed in a day apart from that in the
Lenten supper).
Daniel Fast Christians of various traditions, including Catholics and Methodists, have voluntarily undertaken the
Daniel Fast during the season of Lent, in which one abstains from "meat, fish, egg, dairy products, chocolates, ice creams, sugar, sweets, wine or any alcoholic beverages" (cf. ).
Lenten supper After attending a worship service (often on Wednesday and Friday evenings), it is common for Christians of various denominations to conclude that day's Lenten fast together through a communal
Lenten supper, which may be held in the church's
parish hall. Lenten suppers ordinarily take place in the home setting during the 40 days of Lent during which a family (or individual) concludes that day's fast after a
mealtime prayer.
Abstinence from meat and animal products Fasting has historically included abstinence from alcohol, meat,
lacticinia (dairy products), and other edible produce derived from animals (such as eggs), which has been enjoined continuously for the whole duration of the season including Sundays. Church Father
John Chrysostom stated that the early Christians did not consume meat for the whole duration of Lent. Abstinence from alcohol during the season of Lent has traditionally been enjoined "in remembrance of the Sacred Thirst of Our Lord on the Cross." Dispensations for the allowance of certain foods have been given throughout history, depending on the climate in that part of the world. For example,
Giraldus Cambrensis, in his
Itinerary of Archbishop Baldwin through Wales, reports that "in
Germany and the arctic regions", "great and religious persons" eat the tail of
beavers as "fish" because of its superficial resemblance to "both the taste and colour of fish." The animal was very abundant in Wales at the time.
Saint Thomas Aquinas allowed for the consumption of sweetened foods during Lent, because "sugared spices", such as
comfits, were, in his opinion, digestive aids on par with medicine rather than food. Fasting practices are considerably relaxed in Western societies today, though in the Eastern Orthodox,
Oriental Orthodox,
Eastern Catholic, and
Eastern Lutheran Churches abstinence from all animal products including eggs, fish, fowl, and milk is still commonly practised, so that, where this is observed, only vegetarian (or
vegan) meals are consumed for the whole of Lent, 48 days in the
Byzantine Rite. The
Ethiopian Orthodox Church's practices require a fasting period that is a great deal longer, and there is some dispute over whether fish consumption is permissible. In the traditions of Lent-observing Western Christian churches, abstinence from eating some form of food (generally meat, but not dairy or fish products) is distinguished from fasting. In principle, abstinence is to be observed in Western Christianity on Ash Wednesday and on every Friday of the year that is not a
solemnity (a liturgical feast day of the highest rank); but in each country the
episcopal conference can determine the form it is to take, perhaps replacing abstinence with other forms of penance.
Sexual abstinence The
Coptic Orthodox Church, a denomination of
Oriental Orthodox Christianity, teaches that during Lent believers "should refrain from physical relations to give themselves time for fasting and prayer ()." In Western Christianity, through the
Middle Ages, Christians abstained from sexual relations during the whole of Lent. In view of this, nine months after Lent, birth records were drastically low. In Spain, according to researchers from the
University of Valencia and the
University of Alcalà, the custom of abstaining from sexual relations was widely practised until the end of the
Franco régime, though some Western Christians voluntarily continue this practice today.
Specific fasting traditions by Christian denomination Catholicism Prior to 1966, the Catholic Church allowed Catholics of fasting age to eat only one full meal a day, generally at noon, throughout all forty days of Lent, except on the Lord's Day. Catholics were allowed to take a smaller meal in the evening, called a
collation, which was introduced after the 14th century A.D., and a cup of some beverage such as tea, coffee, or diluted chocolate, accompanied by a bite of bread or a cracker, in the morning. Liquids including soda, beer, and wine were allowed as drinks at any time, except milk or broth, which were considered to be food. The
1917 Code of Canon Law allowed the full meal on a fasting day to be taken at any hour and to be supplemented by two collations, with the quantity and the quality of the food to be determined by local custom. Abstinence from meat was to be observed on Ash Wednesday and on Fridays and Saturdays in Lent. The Lenten fast ended on
Holy Saturday at noon. Only those aged 21 to 59 were obliged to fast. As with all ecclesiastical laws, particular difficulties, such as strenuous work or illness, excused one from observance, and a dispensation from the law could be granted by a bishop or parish priest. A rule of thumb is that the two collations should not add up to the equivalent of another full meal. Rather portions were to be: "sufficient to sustain strength, but not sufficient to satisfy hunger." In 1966,
Pope Paul VI reduced the obligatory fasting days from all forty days of Lent to Ash Wednesday and Good Friday, abstinence days to Fridays and Ash Wednesday, and allowed
episcopal conferences to replace abstinence and fasting with other forms of penitence such as charity and piety, as declared and established in his
apostolic constitution Paenitemini; fasting on all forty days of Lent is still "strongly recommended", though not under pain of mortal sin. This was done so that those in countries where the standard of living is lower can replace fasting with prayer, but "…where economic well-being is greater, so much more will the witness of asceticism have to be given…" This was made part of the
1983 Code of Canon Law, which made obligatory fasting for those aged between 18 and 59, and abstinence for those aged 14 and upward. The
Irish Catholic Bishops' Conference decided to allow other forms of Friday penance to replace that of abstinence from meat, whether in Lent or outside Lent, suggesting alternatives such as abstaining from some other food, or from alcohol or smoking; making a special effort at participating in family prayer or in Mass; making the
Stations of the Cross; or helping the poor, sick, old, or lonely. The
Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales made a similar ruling in 1985 but decided in 2011 to restore the traditional year-round Friday abstinence from meat. The
United States Conference of Catholic Bishops has maintained the rule of abstention from meat on Friday only during Lent and considers poultry to be a type of meat but not fish or shellfish. The
Congregation of Mary Immaculate Queen (CMRI), a
Sedevacantist Catholic congregation, requires fasting for its members on all of the forty days of the Christian season of repentance, Lent (except on the
Lord's Day). The CMRI mandates under the pain of grave sin, abstinence from meat on Ash Wednesday, Good Friday, Holy Saturday and all Fridays of the year in general. Even during Lent, the rule about solemnities holds, so that the obligation of Friday abstinence does not apply on 19 and 25 March when, as usually happens, the solemnities of
Saint Joseph and the
Annunciation are celebrated on those dates. The same applies to
Saint Patrick's Day, which is a solemnity in the whole of Ireland as well as in dioceses that have
Saint Patrick as their principal
patron saint. In some other places, too, where there are strong Irish traditions within the Catholic community, a dispensation is granted for that day. In
Hong Kong, where Ash Wednesday often coincides with
Chinese New Year celebrations, a dispensation is then granted from the laws of fast and abstinence, and the faithful are exhorted to use some other form of penance.
Lutheranism Following the birth of Lutheranism in the
Protestant Reformation, Lutheran church orders in the 16th century "retained the observation of the Lenten fast, and Lutherans have observed this season with a serene, earnest attitude." Many
Lutheran churches advocate fasting during Lent, especially on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday.
A Handbook for the Discipline of Lent published by the
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, a
mainline Lutheran denomination, offers a number of guidelines for fasting, abstinence, and other forms of self-denial during Lent:
Moravianism Members of the
Moravian Church voluntarily fast during the season of Lent, along with making a
Lenten sacrifice for the season as a form of penitence.
Reformed John Calvin, the principal figure in the development of Reformed theology, critiqued the practice of Lent in his
Institutes of the Christian Religion as a "superstitious observance," and observed that "Christ did not fast repeatedly (which he must have done had he meant to lay down a law for an anniversary fast), but once only, when preparing for the promulgation of the gospel." Similarly, leading Reformed divines such as
Samuel Rutherford rejected the obligation of Lent. The
Directory for Public Worship produced by the
Westminster Assembly in 1644 and approved by the
Scottish Parliament in 1645 takes the position that "[t]here is no day commanded in scripture to be kept holy under the gospel but the Lord's day, which is the Christian Sabbath," and approves of fasting specifically "upon special emergent occasions" (cf.
days of humiliation and thanksgiving). Accordingly, and in keeping with the Reformed
regulative principle of worship, the Reformed churches have historically not observed Lent. Some churches in the Reformed tradition observe Lent today. Among Reformed Christians who do observe Lent,
Good Friday, which is towards the end of the Lenten season, is an important day of communal fasting, as it is for many Episcopalians, Lutherans, and Methodists.
Saint Augustine's Prayer Book, a companion to the
Book of Common Prayer, states that fasting is "usually meaning not more than a light breakfast, one full meal, and one half meal, on the forty days of Lent." It further states that "the major Fast Days of Ash Wednesday and Good Friday, as the American Prayer-Book indicates, are stricter in obligation, though not in observance, than the other Fast Days, and therefore should not be neglected except in cases of serious illness or other necessity of an absolute character."
Methodism The historical Methodist homilies regarding the
Sermon on the Mount stress the importance of the Lenten fast, which begins on Ash Wednesday. The
United Methodist Church therefore states that:
Good Friday, which is towards the end of the Lenten season, is traditionally an important day of communal fasting for Methodists. Rev. Jacqui King, the minister of Nu Faith Community United Methodist Church in Houston explained the philosophy of fasting during Lent as "I'm not skipping a meal because in place of that meal I'm actually dining with God." The United Methodist Church teaches, in reference to one's
Lenten sacrifice, that "On each Lord's Day in Lent, while Lenten fasts continue, the reverent spirit of Lent is tempered with joyful anticipation of the Resurrection." The liturgical book
The Sunday Service of the Methodists (put together by
John Wesley), as well as the Directions Given to Band Societies (25 December 1744), mandate fasting and abstinence from meat on all Fridays of the year (except Christmas Day, if it falls on a Friday).
Other related fasting periods , most notably by the public imposition of ashes. In this photograph, a woman receives a cross of ashes on Ash Wednesday outside an Anglican church. (
Divine Service) on Ash Wednesday. The number 40 has many Biblical references: •
Moses spent 40 days on
Mount Sinai with
God •
Elijah spent 40 days and nights walking to
Mount Horeb • God sent 40 days and nights of rain in the great flood of
Noah • The Hebrew people wandered 40 years in the desert while traveling to the
Promised Land •
Jonah's prophecy of
judgment gave 40 days to the city of
Nineveh in which to repent or be destroyed • Jesus retreated into the wilderness, where He fasted for 40 days, and was
tempted by the
devil. He overcame all three of Satan's
temptations by citing scripture to the devil, at which point the devil left him, angels ministered to Jesus, and He began His
ministry. Jesus further said that His disciples should fast "when the bridegroom shall be taken from them", a reference to his Passion. • It is the traditional belief that Jesus lay for 40 hours in the tomb, (the biblical reference to 'three days in the tomb' is understood by them as
spanning three days, from Friday afternoon to early Sunday morning, rather than three 24-hour periods of time). Some Christian denominations, such as The Way International and Logos Apostolic Church of God, as well as
Anglican scholar
E. W. Bullinger in
The Companion Bible, believe Christ was in the grave for a total of 72 hours, reflecting the
type of Jonah in the belly of the whale. One of the most important ceremonies at Easter is the
baptism of the initiates on Easter Eve. The fast was initially undertaken by the
catechumens to prepare them for the reception of this
sacrament. Later, the period of fasting from
Good Friday until Easter Day was extended to six days, to correspond with the six weeks of training necessary to give the final instruction to those
converts who were to be baptized.
Converts to Christianity followed a strict
catechumenate or period of instruction and discipline prior to receiving the
sacrament of
baptism, sometimes lasting up to three years. In
Jerusalem near the close of the fourth century, classes were held throughout Lent for three hours each day. With the legalization of Christianity (by the
Edict of Milan) and its later imposition as the
state religion of the
Roman Empire, its character was endangered by the great influx of new members. In response, the Lenten fast and practices of
self-renunciation were required annually of all Christians, both to show solidarity with the catechumens, and for their own spiritual benefit.
Almsgiving Almsgiving is one of the three pillars of Lent.
Prayer and devotion A common practice is the singing of the
Stabat Mater hymn in designated groups. Among
Filipino Catholics, the recitation of the epic of Christ' passion, called
Pasiong Mahal, is also observed. In many Christian countries, grand religious processions and cultural customs are observed, such as the
Stations of the Cross. A custom of
visiting seven churches during Holy Week to pray the Stations of the Cross and praying at each church, exists and has been done in an ecumenical context, involving Christians of the Catholic, Methodist, Episcopal and
Salvationist traditions, among others.
Omission of Gloria and Alleluia The
Gloria in excelsis Deo, which is usually said or sung on Sundays at
Mass (or Communion) of the
Roman,
Lutheran,
Methodist, and
Anglican rites, is omitted on the Sundays of Lent (as well as Sundays of Advent), but continues in use on
solemnities and
feasts and on special celebrations of a more solemn kind. Some
Mass compositions were written especially for Lent, such as Michael Haydn's
Missa tempore Quadragesimae, without Gloria, in D minor, and for modest forces, only choir and organ. The Gloria is used on
Maundy Thursday, to the accompaniment of bells, which then fall silent until the
Gloria in excelsis of the
Easter Vigil. The Lutheran
Divine Service, the Roman Rite of the Catholic Church, the Anglican Churches, and the Presbyterian service of worship associate the
Alleluia with joy and omit it entirely throughout Lent, not only at Mass but also in the
canonical hours and outside the liturgy. The word "Alleluia" at the beginning and end of the Acclamation Before the
Gospel at Mass is replaced by another phrase. Before 1970, the omission began with
Septuagesima, and the whole Acclamation was omitted and was replaced by a
Tract; and in the
Liturgy of the Hours the word "Alleluia", normally added to the
Gloria Patri at the beginning of each Hour – now simply omitted during Lent – was replaced by the phrase
Laus tibi, Domine, rex aeternae gloriae (Praise to you, O Lord, king of eternal glory). Until the
Ambrosian Rite was revised by Saint
Charles Borromeo the liturgy of the First Sunday of Lent was festive, celebrated with chanting of the Gloria and Alleluia, in line with the recommendation in Matthew 6:16, "When you fast, do not look gloomy."
Vestments of a
Lutheran church decorated with red
paraments, the liturgical colour of the last week of Lent,
Holy Week, in the Lutheran and Anglican Churches In the Catholic, Lutheran, Methodist, and many Anglican churches, pastors and priests wear violet vestments during the season of Lent. Catholic priests and
deacons wear white vestments on the solemnities of
Saint Joseph and the
Feast of the Annunciation (19 and 25 March). On the fourth Sunday of Lent, rose-coloured vestments may be worn, if available. Historically, black was also used for Lent:
Pope Innocent III declared black to be the proper colour, though
Durandus of Saint-Pourçain asserted violet was preferable to black. In some Anglican churches, a type of unbleached linen or muslin known as "Lenten array" is worn during the first three weeks of Lent, crimson is worn during Passiontide, and on holy days, the colour proper to the day is worn. In certain other Anglican churches, as an alternative to violet for all of Lent except Holy Week and red beginning on Palm Sunday through Holy Saturday, Lenten array, typically made of sackcloth such as burlap and trimmed with crimson cloth, often velvet, is worn, even during Holy Week—since the sackcloth represents penance and the crimson edges represent the Passion of Christ. Even the veils that cover the altar crosses or crucifixes and statuary (if any) are made of the same sackcloth with the crimson trim. == Holy days within the season of Lent ==