A Lenten calendar or Lent calendar is a special calendar used by Western Christians to count the days of Lent in anticipation of Easter. Lenten calendars traditionally start on Ash Wednesday and conclude on Easter Day. As with an Advent calendar, a Lenten calendar often has windows or flaps containing "a scriptural verse for each day, a reflection question, and an action that is appropriate and achievable". [1] The Bible verse for the day is frequently accompanied by an image relating to Lent. [2] Christians often use Lenten calendars as a part of their Lenten devotions. [3]
Easter, also called Pascha or Resurrection Sunday, is a Christian festival and cultural holiday commemorating the resurrection of Jesus from the dead, described in the New Testament as having occurred on the third day of his burial following his crucifixion by the Romans at Calvary c. 30 AD. It is the culmination of the Passion of Jesus Christ, preceded by Lent, a 40-day period of fasting, prayer, and penance.
Quinquagesima, in the Western Christian Churches, is the last pre-Lent Sunday, being the Sunday before Ash Wednesday, and the first day of Carnival or Shrovetide. It is also called Quinquagesima Sunday, Quinquagesimae, Estomihi, Shrove Sunday, Pork Sunday, or the Sunday next before Lent.
The liturgical year, also called the church year, Christian year or kalendar, consists of the cycle of liturgical seasons in Christian churches that determines when feast days, including celebrations of saints, are to be observed, and which portions of Scripture are to be read either in an annual cycle or in a cycle of several years.
Shrove Tuesday is the final day of Shrovetide, marking the end of pre-Lent. Lent begins the following day with Ash Wednesday. Shrove Tuesday is observed in many Christian countries through participating in confession; the ritual burning of the previous year's Holy Week palms; finalizing one's Lenten sacrifice; as well as eating pancakes and other sweets.
Liturgical colours are specific colours used for vestments and hangings within the context of Christian liturgy. The symbolism of violet, blue, white, green, red, gold, black, rose and other colours may serve to underline moods appropriate to a season of the liturgical year or may highlight a special occasion.
Ash Wednesday is a holy day of prayer and fasting in many Western Christian denominations. It is preceded by Shrove Tuesday and marks the first day of Lent, the six weeks of penitence before Easter.
Septuagesima is the name for the ninth Sunday before Easter, the third before Ash Wednesday. The term is sometimes applied to the seventy days starting on Septuagesima Sunday and ending on the Saturday after Easter. Alternatively, the term is sometimes applied also to the period sometimes called pre-Lent that begins on this day and ends on Shrove Tuesday, the day before Ash Wednesday, when Lent begins.
The Paschal Triduum or Easter Triduum, Holy Triduum, or the Three Days, is the period of three days that begins with the liturgy on the evening of Maundy Thursday, reaches its high point in the Easter Vigil, and closes with evening prayer on Easter Sunday. It is a moveable observance recalling the Passion, Crucifixion, Death, burial, and Resurrection of Jesus, as portrayed in the canonical Gospels.
An Advent calendar, from the German word Adventskalender, is used to count the days of Advent in anticipation of Christmas. Since the date of the First Sunday of Advent varies, falling between November 27 and December 3 inclusive, many reusable Advent calendars made of paper or wood begin on December 1. Others start from the First Sunday of Advent.
Alleluia is a phrase in Christianity used to give praise to God. In Christian worship, Alleluia is used as a liturgical chant in which that word is combined with verses of scripture, usually from the Psalms. This chant is commonly used before the proclamation of the Gospel. In Western Christianity, congregations commonly cease using the word Alleluia during the period of Lent but restore it into their services at Easter. The form of praise "Alleluia" is used by Christians to thank and glorify God; it finds itself present in many prayers and hymns, especially those related to Eastertide, such as "Christ the Lord is Risen Today".
Laetare Sunday is the fourth Sunday in the season of Lent, in the Western Christian liturgical calendar. Traditionally, this Sunday has been a day of celebration within the austere period of Lent. This Sunday gets its name from the first few words of the traditional Latin entrance verse (Introit) for the Mass of the day. "Laetare Jerusalem" is Latin from Isaiah 66:10.
A spiritual practice or spiritual discipline is the regular or full-time performance of actions and activities undertaken for the purpose of inducing spiritual experiences and cultivating spiritual development. A common metaphor used in the spiritual traditions of the world's great religions is that of walking a path. Therefore, a spiritual practice moves a person along a path towards a goal. The goal is variously referred to as salvation, liberation or union. A person who walks such a path is sometimes referred to as a wayfarer or a pilgrim.
The Copts, who belong mostly to the Coptic Orthodox Church, observe fasting periods according to the Coptic calendar. These fasting periods are exceeded by no other Christian community except the Orthodox Tewahedo. Out of the 365 days of the year, Copts often fast between 210 and 240 days. This means that Copts abstain from all animal products for up to two-thirds of each year. Coptic Orthodox fasts have evolved over time to become more lengthy and severe. A lifestyle involving such fasts may have contributed to the pacifist mindset of the Coptic people for centuries.
The Lutheran liturgical calendar is a listing which details the primary annual festivals and events that are celebrated liturgically by various Lutheran churches. The calendars of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada (ELCIC) are from the 1978 Lutheran Book of Worship and the calendar of the Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod (LCMS) and the Lutheran Church–Canada (LCC) use the Lutheran Book of Worship and the 1982 Lutheran Worship. Elements unique to the ELCA have been updated from the Lutheran Book of Worship to reflect changes resulting from the publication of Evangelical Lutheran Worship in 2006. The elements of the calendar unique to the LCMS have also been updated from Lutheran Worship and the Lutheran Book of Worship to reflect the 2006 publication of the Lutheran Service Book.
A daily devotional is a religious publication that provides a specific spiritual reading for each calendar day. Many daily devotionals take the form of one year devotional books, with many being tailored specifically for children, teenagers, students, men and women.
An Easter basket, also known as a Paschal basket, is a basket containing the foods traditionally forbidden to consume during Lent that is blessed by a priest for breaking the Lenten fast. This continues to be normative in Eastern Christianity and Easter baskets are typically blessed before the midnight service on Holy Saturday, with their contents being consumed at the feast after the service.
Lent is the solemn Christian religious observance in the liturgical year commemorating the 40 days Jesus Christ spent fasting in the desert and enduring temptation by Satan, according to the Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke, before beginning his public ministry. Lent is usually observed in the Catholic, Lutheran, Moravian, Anglican, United Protestant and Orthodox Christian traditions, among others. Some Anabaptist, Baptist, Methodist, Reformed, and nondenominational Christian churches also observe Lent, although many churches in these traditions do not.
Pacificus Baker, O.F.M. (1695–1774), was an English Minorite friar and noted Catholic spiritual writer of the 18th century.
A Lenten sacrifice is a spiritually motivated voluntary renunciation of a pleasure or luxury that most Christians give up for the observance of Lent, which starts on Ash Wednesday. The tradition of Lent has its roots in Jesus Christ praying and fasting for forty days in the desert according to the gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke. When Lent is over and Easter Sunday arrives, the faithful are able to indulge in what they sacrificed during the Lenten season.
A Lenten supper is a meal that takes place in the evenings to break the day's fast during the Christian liturgical season of Lent, which is widely observed by members of the Catholic, Lutheran, Moravian, Anglican, Methodist, and United Protestant traditions, in addition to certain Reformed denominations.
