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Wednesday, February 06, 2008

Thursday Thirteen #33: Lent


Thirteen Things about Lent


Since today (yesterday now) is the start of the Lenten season, I thought I'd share some things about Lent.

1. For most Christians, it the a season of 40 days of fasting and prayer before Easter.
2. In most western Christian traditions, Sundays don't count towards the 40 days because they celebrate the resurrection of Christ.
3. Lent begins with Ash Wednesday, a day of reflection on what we need to do to change and grow as Christians.
4. Ash Wednesday got its name from the tradition of placing ashes on people's foreheads as a sign of mourning for sin.
5. Forty is an important symbolic number in the Bible: it often symbolizes discipline and preparation.
6. Many people will either give up something in observance of Lent or take on a new spiritual discipline.
7. Three important elements of celebrating Lent are prayer, fasting, and almsgiving, showing justice to God, ourselves, and others.
8. Roman Catholics see Lent as an important part of their tradition, while most Protestants see it as a choice.
9. Sundays are feast days, so there is no fasting on Sundays.
10. Palm Sunday is the last Sunday before Easter, celebrating Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem, the beginning of Holy Week.
11. The Thursday before Easter is known as Maundy Thursday, which is when Jesus and his disciples celebrated the last supper.
12. Some Christians will celebrate with a Seder meal, honoring the Passover, which is what Jesus and his disciples were celebrating with the last supper.
13. Good Friday is the next day, commemorating the crucifixion and burial of Jesus.




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12 comments:

Bloggers said...

Thank you for sharing this. I love to learn something new.

Tempest Knight said...

Great T13!

Mamarazzi said...

this is a fantastic and informative post. my daughter was just asking me what lent was and i said i would find out and get back to her...i knew the basics but i did NOT know enough...now i do!

so. thank. you.

new to Thursday Thirteen. poking around other participants, trying to broaden my bloggy horizons.

Kaige said...

Thanks for stopping by!

Interesting list. Lots of stuff I didn't know or had forgotten. Thanks for the reminders.

Jana said...

Cool, I didn't know all that stuff. Baptists don't really do Lent. I hadn't even heard of it, really, until I got to college. I observed it for a couple of years to encourage a friend who was trying to observe it but didn't really know that much about it. Now I do. :) So thanks.

Anonymous said...

I used to do lent (against my will) when I was a child. No chocolates for 40 days. I didn't know a single one of my friends who did that, and I felt very deprived. As soon as i was old enough to make my own decisions I decided I had done enough lent for one lifetime! The irony is that these days I am indifferent to chocolate and could give it up if I had to -- but I don't have to!

Anonymous said...

Wow, I didn't know so much about Lent. I'm Christian, but Baptist. Happy TT!

Melanie said...

Very informative!

Danica Favorite said...

I'm glad this was informative for so many people. I admit, I didn't know all of it either, until I started researching for my thirteen. I think it's important to know what and why things are celebrated, even if it's something you don't observe. Although I am taking some of what I learned and putting it to use.

Kay Day said...

this was great info!
I sooo loved doing all of this last year at the Anglican church we attended. It was totally new to me and very powerful.
Maundy Thursday service is one I will never forget my whole life.

Danica Favorite said...

Kay, I would love to see how others do it.

Karen said...

This was very interesting. I really didn't know too much about Lent except that it usually meant some of my friends gave up chocolate or some other treat! Great TT and thanks for the info!