Additionally, the fourth Lenten Sunday, Mothering Sunday, which has become known as Mother's Day in the United Kingdom and an occasion for honouring mothers of children, has its origin in a 16th-century celebration of the Mother Church.

The English word Lent is a shortened form of the Old English word lencten, meaning " spring season", as its Dutch language cognate lente ( Old Dutch lentin) [30] still does today. A dated term in German, Lenz ( Old High German lenzo), is also related. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, 'the shorter form (? Old Germanic type * laŋgito- , * laŋgiton-) seems to be a derivative of * laŋgo- long […] and may possibly have reference to the lengthening of the days as characterizing the season of spring'. The origin of the - en element is less clear: it may simply be a suffix, or lencten may originally have been a compound of * laŋgo- 'long' and an otherwise little-attested word *- tino, meaning "day". [23] Jonah's prophecy of judgment gave 40 days to the city of Nineveh in which to repent or be destroyed [137] John Calvin, the principal figure in the development of Reformed theology, critiqued the practice of Lent in his Institutes of the Christian Religion as a "superstitious observance," and observed that "Christ did not fast repeatedly (which he must have done had he meant to lay down a law for an anniversary fast), but once only, when preparing for the promulgation of the gospel." [122] Similarly, leading Reformed divines such as Samuel Rutherford rejected the obligation of Lent. [123] In the Ambrosian Rite, Lent begins on the Sunday that follows what is celebrated as Ash Wednesday in the rest of the Latin Catholic Church, and ends as in the Roman Rite, thus being of 40 days, counting the Sundays but not Holy Thursday. The day for beginning the Lenten fast in the Ambrosian Rite is the Monday after Ash Wednesday. The special Ash Wednesday fast is transferred to the first Friday of the Ambrosian Lent. Until this rite was revised by Saint Charles Borromeo, the liturgy of the First Sunday of Lent was festive, celebrated in white vestments with chanting of the Gloria in Excelsis and Alleluia, in line with the recommendation in Matthew 6:16, "When you fast, do not look gloomy." [42] [43] [44]This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sourcesin this section. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. ( January 2013) ( Learn how and when to remove this template message)

a b Nampon, Adrien (1869). Catholic Doctrine as Defined by the Council of Trent: Expounded in a Series of Conferences Delivered in Geneva Proposed as a Means of Reuniting All Christians. P. F. Cunningham. p.688. Bradshaw, Paul F. (1993). Carr, E.; Parenti, S.; Thiermeyer, A.A.; Velkovska, E. (eds.). Diem baptismo sollemniorem: Initiation and Easter in Christian Antiquity. Analecta Liturgica, 17. Rome: Studia Anselmiana. {{ cite encyclopedia}}: |work= ignored ( help)

Fasting and Abstinence. Statement from the Bishops of England and Wales on Canons 1249–1253" (PDF). In the pre-1992 Methodist liturgy and pre-1970 forms of the Roman Rite, the last two weeks of Lent are known as Passiontide, a period beginning on the Fifth Sunday in Lent, which in the 1962 edition of the Roman Missal is called the First Sunday in Passiontide and in earlier editions Passion Sunday. All statues (and in England paintings as well) in the church were traditionally veiled in violet. This was seen as in keeping with John 8:46–59, the Gospel of that Sunday, in which Jesus "hid himself" from the people. The Eastern Orthodox Church maintains the traditional Church's teaching on fasting. The rules for lenten fasting are the monastic rules. Fasting in the Orthodox Church is more than simply abstaining from certain foods. During the Great Lent Orthodox Faithful intensify their prayers and spiritual exercises, go to church services more often, study the Scriptures and the works of the Church Fathers in depth, limit their entertainment and spendings and focus on charity and good works.

The Lutheran Divine Service, the Roman Rite of the Catholic Church, the Anglican Churches, and the Presbyterian service of worship associate the Alleluia with joy and omit it entirely throughout Lent, [150] [151] not only at Mass but also in the canonical hours and outside the liturgy. The word "Alleluia" at the beginning and end of the Acclamation Before the Gospel at Mass is replaced by another phrase. The 40 days of Lent are calculated differently among the various Christian denominations that observe it, depending on how the date of Easter is calculated, but also on which days Lent is understood to begin and end, and on whether all the days of Lent are counted consecutively. Additionally, the date of Lent may depend on the calendar used by the particular church, such as the ( revised) Julian or Gregorian calendars typically used by Protestant, Roman Catholic, and Eastern Orthodox churches, or the Ethiopian and Coptic calendars traditionally used by some Oriental Orthodox churches. a b c Herbert, Thurston (1910). "Lent". In Herbermann, Charles (ed.). Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol.9. New York: Robert Appleton Company. See paragraph: Duration of the Fast Fasting practices are considerably relaxed in Western societies today, though in the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, Eastern Catholic, and Eastern Lutheran Churches abstinence from all animal products including eggs, fish, fowl, and milk is still commonly practiced, so that, where this is observed, only vegetarian (or vegan) meals are consumed for the whole of Lent, 48 days in the Byzantine Rite. The Ethiopian Orthodox Church's practices require a fasting period that is a great deal longer, and there is some dispute over whether fish consumption is permissible.

3. The long journey of Lent

What is Shrove Tuesday? Meaning, Traditions, and 2021 Date". Christianity.com . Retrieved 16 February 2021. While undergoing a Lenten sacrifice, it is helpful to pray for strength; and encouraging fellow Christians in their fast saying, for example: "May God bless your Lenten sacrifice."