Lent’s Here! Time to Ditch Your Bad Habits (Or at Least Try To!)

Today marks the beginning of Lent. Lent is a Christian tradition that is usually honored by Catholics, Lutherans, Methodist, Anglicans, and Episcopalians.

✝️ When did the practice of Lent begin?

It's hard to say for certain when a tradition as old as Lent was first honored, but the prevailing theory of the beginning of Lent is that it was created in 325 AD during the Council of Nicea.

❓ What is Lent?

Lent is a time for certain Christian denominations to fast and to serve penance for 40 days. Lent takes place, for Catholics, starting on Ash Wednesday and ending on Holy Thursday. Protestants observe it from Ash Wednesday until Holy Saturday. Neither observe Lent on Sundays which makes the total duration for Lent 44 days for Catholics and 46 days for Protestants.

🙏 What do people do for Lent?

Most people will fast and give up vices since Lent is a practice that began to commemorate the 40 days that Jesus fasted and was tempted by Satan. In the Catholic Church fasting is required for anyone between the ages of 18 and 59. Fasting does not require completely abstaining from eating during Lent. Instead, during your fast an individual may only eat one regular meal per day and two smaller meals.

The vices that people people give up are a personal choice. It could something like smoking, cussing, or gambling. It really doesn't matter as long as you believe that giving it up will help you become closer to God.

Here is a list of things that every Texan could give up for Lent!