5 Interesting Facts About Lent

By Michael Gryboski, Mainline Church Editor Twitter
Electronics Technician 3rd Class Leila Tardieu receives the sacramental ashes during an Ash Wednesday.
Electronics Technician 3rd Class Leila Tardieu receives the sacramental ashes during an Ash Wednesday. | Wikimedia Commons/U.S. Navy/Brian May

For hundreds of millions of Christians, spring time does not just bring flowers and warmer temperatures, it brings a time of solemn contemplation.

Known as Lent, it is the period of time roughly 40 days in length before Easter Sunday. Deriving from the Old English word "lencten," meaning spring, it is usually marked by observants giving up something.

Lent has a lengthy history and its specific practices can vary from church to church. Here are five interesting facts about the holy season.

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