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• Lent begins on Ash Wednesday and ends at sun down on Holy Saturday. The season of Lent spans forty days excluding Sundays, since Sundays are considered Days of the Resurrection.
• On Ash Wednesday, ashes are placed in the sign of the cross on our foreheads as a sign of our mortality and acknowledges our belief in Jesus as our Savior. The ashes are burnt each year from the palm fronds used on Palm Sunday from the previous year.
• The etymology of the word Lent comes from the translation which means “spring” or from the Old English word “Lencten” which means “lengthen” because at this time of the year in the northern hemisphere the amount of sun light is lengthening during the day.
• Among the early Christians, the time of Lent was the forty days of preparation for Baptism which was held during the Great Easter Vigil. The number forty is significant in Scripture and usually symbolizes discipline, fasting, testing and separation prior to a new beginning:
• In the story of Noah it rains for forty days and nights during the Great Flood.
• Moses communed with God on Mount Sinai for forty days before receiving the Ten Commandments.
• The people of Israel wandered in the desert for forty years.
• Elijah journeyed for forty days before he reached the cave and had a vision of God.
• Jesus fasted for forty days in the wilderness.
• There are forty days between Easter Sunday and the Feast of the Ascension, when Jesus ascends to heaven.
• The colors of the seasons:
• Purple is the traditional liturgical color of Lent which symbolizes repentance, royalty and self discipline.
• Black is the color of mourning and is used on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday.
• Red is used on Palm Sunday and Maundy Thursday which signifies Christ's passionate love for humanity.
• White is the color of Easter, symbolizing joy and celebration of Christ’s resurrection.