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Ash Wednesday is not only the end of the carnival season, for Christians it is also the beginning of Lent. This lasts until Easter. You can find out about the religious background of Lent in this article.
Easter Lent – more than just a custom for Christians
For believing Christians, the Easter penitential season, as Lent is also called, is a very important time in the church year. It begins on Ash Wednesday and ends on Easter Sunday.
- The beginning of Lent was set on Ash Wednesday as early as the sixth century. This day heralds a 40-day period of Lent for Christians. The last day of Lent is Holy Saturday.
- Calendrically, the period covers more than 40 days. However, Sundays are not counted in Lent in the church.
- The fact that believing Christians fast for 40 days at a time is no coincidence. This period of time is reminiscent of the 40 days that Jesus Christ himself fasted in the desert. He resisted the temptations of the devil there.
- For example, the devil asked Jesus to let the stones become bread in the desert so that he would have something to eat. Jesus replied: “It is written: Not by bread alone shall man live, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God. “
- Believing Catholics between the ages of 14 and 60 are called upon by the Church to fast during the Easter penitential season. Sick people are exempt. Ash Wednesday and Good Friday are so-called “required fasting days”, on which Catholics are generally only allowed to eat one meal.
- On Ash Wednesday, Lent traditionally begins with the custom of eating sour herring. On Good Friday, it is commanded that at most fish may be eaten. On Easter Sunday, the resurrection of Jesus Christ is celebrated with, among other things, a feast.
- The ash cross, which is drawn on the forehead of Catholics on Ash Wednesday, symbolises the transience of life. This sign is only given in the Catholic Church or in an ecumenical service also for Protestants.
Religious fasting – what it means
Most people associate fasting with abstaining from food.
- But fasting actually includes many other aspects. Abstinence from certain foods is also one of them. Overall, however, it is mainly about renunciation.
- Strict believers abstain from various things during Lent. These include sweets, meat, alcohol and tobacco consumption.
- In principle, any excessive intake of a food during Lent is already a breach of the fasting commandment. Even if it is a food that is actually permitted. Thus, any food eaten in excess is a breach of the fast.
- The very purpose of Lent is to become more open to the Word of God and more receptive to religious experiences.
- In addition to abstaining from certain things, this fasting is also expressed, for example, in daily, intensive prayer.
- An increased willingness to donate during Lent is also common. Believers are also expected to take more time for their fellow human beings.
- A little story about Lent: The people and monks in the Middle Ages did not necessarily starve during the time before Easter. A legend from earlier times gives the invention of the Maultaschen. There, a monk wrapped meat in dough and thus hid the meat from God’s eyes.
- This story is said to have happened at Maulbronn Monastery in the 16th century. Since Maulbronn is in Swabia, the Maultaschen are also called “Herrgottsb’scheißerle” there.
