Lent–the time where we don’t eat candy for a month and a half. That is an understatement as to what Lent truly is. Lent is the season that starts on Ash Wednesday, where we get our heads anointed with Holy Ashes, and ends with the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ from the dead after 3 days. It is a time of prayer and penance held sacred by the Catholic, Orthodox, and Protestant churches. But the question is less of what is Lent, but more of what are its origins? How did Lent come to be?
Lent has been around since the dawn of the faith nearly 2000 years ago, but the earliest mention of it was around 203 A.D. by Saint Iranaeus, who discussed the varying amounts of time people spent fasting in preparation for Easter in a letter to Pope St. Victor I. It was later mentioned at the council of Nicea after Christianity was officially legalized in Rome. During the council, many statements were made regarding the period of penance required before Easter. St. Cyril of Alexandria, Pope St. Leo, and St. Athanasius all made claims that there were 40 days of fasting required before Easter, and prayer and penance were the most important among those days. This specific number of days likely came from Jesus’s days in the wilderness, where he fasted for 40 days in the desert.
Soon the 40 days of fasting before Easter became mainstream, but debates about the season became increasingly more common. One such debate was about when the fasting would be done. People in Jerusalem stopped fasting on the Sabbath (Saturday and Sunday) and Lent lasted around 8 weeks, whereas in Rome people fasted for roughly 6 weeks. Arguments also arose about how you fasted, some areas even cutting out all animal products from their diet for the entirety of Lent, with Pope St. Gregory writing to St. Augustine of Canterbury saying that “We abstain from flesh, meat, and all things that come from flesh, such as milk, cheese, and eggs.” Other areas were markedly more lenient towards fasting.
As time passed, rules evolved, and the season was solidified into something more clearly defined. Ash Wednesday was instrumented eventually, making the 40 day debate irrelevant as a clear day was chosen for the fasting to begin. In Orthodox Christianity, Lent begins on Clean Monday instead. Definite rules were placed down, changing the strict culinary rules to the more simple ‘no meat and one large meal per day on Fridays and Ash Wednesday’ rules that we are more familiar with nowadays. These adaptations to tradition were mainly implemented around WWII. Eating meat during the week was also allowed, save of course for Ash Wednesday and Fridays.
Nowadays, Lent is commonly used as a time for self-improvement as well as faith. Many people give up vices and habits that they normally engage in around the year in hopes to better themselves, such as alcohol, sugar, social media, etc. These are added onto the main fast of Lent as an accessory to make a greater sacrifice, showing one’s devotion and faith to the Lord. Along with the giving up of material goods, charity is a common occurrence during Lent, with many serving Fish Fries and humanitarian organizations as a way to show faith and penance.
And to finish with a question many ask during this time, what are you giving up for Lent?
