When is Lent 2024? Important dates, and what to know about how its observed
People often think of Mardi Gras as a time of vibrant parties and huge celebrations, but they never really consider why these festivities happen.
Mardi Gras, or Carnival, is a time for Christian groups to celebrate, eat and drink before a period of 40 days of prayer and fasting, a religious observance known as Lent.
Here's everything we know about Lent, who celebrates it and the holy traditions surrounding it.
What is Lent?
Lent is a time of penance and preparation to reinforce the priority of spirituality, according to Donald Prudlo the department chair of the University of Tulsa's Philosophy & Religion department and Warren Chair in Catholic Studies.
It's celebrated mainly by Catholics and Eastern Orthodox Christians, Prudlo said, though increasingly many Protestant churches are observing it.
He said Lent allows those who observe to prepare themselves for the greatest feast in the Christian calendar, Easter.
"When we look at an athlete, an athlete has to follow a special diet. They have to do a number of exercises in order to train their bodies to accomplish an athletic feat," Prudlo said. "This is in a certain sense (similar to) Christians. Christians fast and they do penance, and they abstain from certain foods."
When is Lent in 2024?
This year, Lent begins on Ash Wednesday, Feb. 14 this year, and runs until March 28, the day before Good Friday and three days before Easter.
Why do Catholics fast during Lent?
In Eastern Orthodox traditions, observing Lent means eating one meal a day, Prudlo said. This also means abstaining from meat and milk products.
Prudlo said that in recent years, the rules for fasting during Lent have been more relaxed in Catholicism.
Like Eastern Orthodox Christians, Catholics also eat just one meal a day, but only on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday, Prudlo said. These meals don't include meat, and Catholics are allowed to eat smaller snacks during those days.
Why do Catholics eat fish during Lent?
During Lent, Eastern Orthodox Catholics abstain from meat, and so do Catholics every Friday during the season.
Prudlo said this is because meat was always considered expensive in cultures that observe Lent, but fish was cheaper, simpler, less desirable and more readily available. Because of that, fish was permitted during Lent.
"Now, you might say, 'Catholics, they just have a lobster that day, and that's not really much of a sacrifice,'" Prudlo said. "But what it is, is that Catholics know that on that day, every single Catholic in the world ... are undertaking that fast together. They're making that sacrifice together. It is as much practice of the whole church community as it is the single Catholic person."
Why do Catholics give something up for Lent?
Catholics are encouraged to remove luxuries from their lives during Lent, Prudlo said. This is to learn to live without things they typically love to identify with Jesus Christ who was poor, Prudlo said, and to focus on spiritual goods rather than earthly ones.
"It can be giving up candy, it can be giving up watching TV or giving up Netflix or Instagram or whatever for Lent," Prudlo said. "These would be offerings, personal sacrifices, that a person can make in order to conform themselves with Christ."
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: When is Lent 2024? When Lent starts, ends, how it's observed
