Skip to main content

20 Interesting Facts About Lent

 

People can get cranky when they don’t get what they want, especially over the Lenten season. So please, take pity on your Christian friends during Lent; they’re sacrificing their vices for the betterment of their health. It’s also a “time that the Lord invites us to come back home, come back to the Church,” according to Cardinal Timothy Dolan, the Archbishop of the Archdiocese of New York. Here we’re going to look at 20 interesting facts about Lent!
1.    Lent is the 40 weekdays from Ash Wednesday to Easter observed by the Roman Catholic, Eastern, and some Protestant churches as a period of penitence and fasting. Sundays aren’t included in the 40-day count.
2.    Since Sunday’s aren’t included, Lent technically lasts 46 days.
3.    When Lent started, it was only 36 days. Later, it was changed to 40 days.
4.    Why is Lent 40 days? The number 40 is a significant number for Christians. Jesus spent 40 days in a desert. Noah had to wait 40 days for his ark to float. And Moses, along with his followers, traveled through the wilderness for 40 years before reaching the Promised Land.
5.    Catholics started the tradition of Lent around the year 325, during the Council of Nicea, but it has spread through other Christian denominations. These include the following denominations: Western Orthodox Churches, Lutherans, Methodists, Presbyterians, and Anglicans, among others.
6.    Lent comes from the Middle English word “lente,” which means springtime.
7.    Lent starts on what’s known as Ash Wednesday. This is when followers spread ashes on their forehead to signal their repentance to God. The ashes come from burning last year’s palms that were distributed on Palm Sunday.
8.    One of Lent’s central components is fasting. The practice has died in recent years, but that didn’t stop New Orleans from throwing a huge party called Mardi Gras. On the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday, aka “Fat Tuesday,” people party in the streets and get fat since they should be fasting for the next 40 days.
9.    In the Catholic tradition, followers should not eat meat from any warm-blooded animal during Lent. This rule has been relaxed to “You can’t eat meat on Fridays.”
10.  You CAN eat fish or other cold-blooded animals, which is why you see fast-food restaurants have sales for their fish sandwiches during Lent.
11.  Besides not eating meat, Christians also abstain themselves from certain vices, whether it’s chocolate or TV or video games or other pleasurable activities. In a sort of paradoxes, some even abstain from sex for 40 days, even though Christians are told to “go forth and multiply.”
12.  Prayer is another common practice for those practicing Lent. This, along with fasting, helps Christians stay centered in Christ and God.
13.  Violet is the official color of Lent, as this represents mourning for Jesus dying on the cross while also celebrating his resurrection with the colors of royalty.
14.  Lent doesn’t actually end on Easter; it ends on Good Thursday, the day Jesus has The Last Supper. Good Friday is when Jesus dies on the cross, and on Easter Sunday, he rises from the grave.
15.  All Catholics between the ages of 18 and 59 should fast every Wednesday after Ash Wednesday. But don’t worry; you can still eat one regular-sized meal and two small meals and it’s still considered a fast.
16.  This is also a time for followers to give to charity. Catholics have given more than $250 million to feed the hungry during Lent.
17.  The date for Easter has been set for thousands of years. It all has to do with the full moon of the Pashal, or Passover, full moon. Easter will fall between March 22 and April 25. There are mathematical formulas you can use to determine when Easter will fall in any year.
18.  Because we know the date for every Easter from now until the end of time, we also know the date Lent starts. Just count 46 days (include Sundays) or 40 days (excluding Sundays) from Easter, and you know when Ash Wednesday is.
19.  Christian churches still fast and abstain from vices, more so than their Western counterparts. During the “Great Lent,” they cannot eat meat, fish, eggs, or butter. Any wine, oil or dairy products are also prohibited.

20.  In a study done in 2014, 72% of adults knew what Lent was, and 88% of those participating in Lent were giving up some item of food for 40 days. Chocolate was the number one food most people were willing to give up during Lent.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

TOP || BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION UNDERGRADUATE PROJECT TOPICS

For the benefit of students who are searching for some suggestion for project topics and ideas. We have listed down some of our project tittles below. Please note that the below project listed are only to give the students an idea about the various project ideas that are possible. Remember that with great project topic comes great project ASSESSING THE EFFECT OF MATERIAL HANDLING ON THE PROFITABILITY OF A MANUFACTURING COMPANY EFFECT OF CAPITAL ALLOWANCES ON THE PERFORMANCE OF SMALL AND MEDIUM SCALE ENTERPRISES (A CASE STUDY OF SELECTED CONSTRUCTION COMPNIES IN NIGERIA) EFFECTIVENESS AND EFFICIENCY OF PERSONAL INCOME TAX COLLECTION IN UYO LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA EMPLOYEE BENEFITS AND IT EFFECTS ON EMPLOYEE PRODUCTIVITY (A CASE STUDY OF FIRST BANK NIGERIA PLC, OWERRI BRANCH) IMPACT OF MULTIPLE TAXATION ON SMALL AND MEDIUM SCALE BUSINESSES IN NIGERIA PERFORMANCE ASSESSMENT AND INVESTMENT DECISIONS OF SMALL AND MEDIUM SCALE ENTERPRISES IN NIGERIA (A CASE STUDY OF SO...

FINALY BERMUDA TRIANGLE MYSTERY SOLVED...!!

Computer studies of ocean floors around the world, particularly the area known as The Bermuda Triangle, reveal evidence of massive methane explosions in the past. For years, believers in the paranormal, aliens, and other outlandish theories pointed to the the disappearance of ships and aircraft as an indicator of mysterious forces at work in the “Devil’s triangle.” Scientists have finally pointed the rest of us to a more plausible cause. The presence of methane hydrates indicates enormous eruptions of methane bubbles that would swamp a ship, and projected high into the air- take out flying airplanes, as well. Any ships caught within the methane mega-bubble immediately lose all buoyancy and sink to the bottom of the ocean. If the bubbles are big enough and possess a high enough density they can also knock aircraft out of the sky with little or no warning. Aircraft falling victim to these methane bubbles will lose their engines-perhaps igniting the methane surrounding...

NEWS || MORNING HEADLINES

GOOD MORNING NIGERIA! RIVERS | Wike’s comments, threat to National Security – APC WORKERS’ DAY | APC seeks more support from workers JUST IN | Nigeria Police warns IPOB not to contemplate any protest in Abuja WORKERS DAY | ULC to protest against the removal of minimum wage FLASH | FG to review petrol price FIGHTING CORRUPTION | 99% of those arrested during my tenure are PDP members – Nuhu Ribadu, ex-EFCC boss 2019 PRESIDENCY | Buhari is fit enough for a second term – Amaechi Constitution review | House c’ttee endorses independent candidacy We must get back to the era of National Development Plan — Presidency Economic Adviser Why Bauchi people are angry with Governor Abubakar – Speaker Dogara APC, Peterside flay Wike over allegations against IG

Recommended for you

Archive

Popular post

loading...