Lent
Lent (Latin: Quadragesima, ‘Fortieth’) is a solemn religious observance in the Christian liturgical calendar that begins on Ash Wednesday and ends approximately six weeks later, before Easter Sunday. The purpose of Lent is the preparation of the believer for Easter through prayer, doing penance, mortifying the flesh, repentance of sins, almsgiving, and denial of ego. This event is observed in the Anglican, Eastern Orthodox, Lutheran, Methodist, Moravian, Oriental Orthodox, Reformed, and Roman Catholic Churches. Some Anabaptist and evangelical churches also observe the Lenten season.The last week of Lent is Holy Week, starting with Palm Sunday. Following the New Testament story, Jesus’ crucifixion is commemorated on Good Friday, and at the beginning of the next week the joyful celebration of Easter Sunday recalls the Resurrection of Jesus Christ.
In Lent, many Christians commit to fasting, as well as giving up certain luxuries in order to replicate the account of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ’s journey into the desert for 40 days; this is known as one’s Lenten sacrifice. Many Christians also add a Lenten spiritual discipline, such as reading a daily devotional or praying through a Lenten calendar, to draw themselves near to God. The Stations of the Cross, a devotional commemoration of Christ’s carrying the Cross and of his execution, are often observed. Many Roman Catholic and some Protestant churches remove flowers from their altars, while crucifixes, religious statues, and other elaborate religious symbols are often veiled in violet fabrics in solemn observance of the event. Throughout Christendom, some adherents mark the season with the traditional abstention from the consumption of meat, most notably among Lutherans, Roman Catholics and Anglicans.Lent is traditionally described as lasting for 40 days, in commemoration of the 40 days Jesus spent fasting in the desert, according to the Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke, before beginning his public ministry, during which he endured temptation by Satan. Depending on the Christian denomination and local custom, Lent ends either on the evening of Maundy Thursday, or at sundown on Holy Saturday, when the Easter Vigil is celebrated. Regardless, Lenten practices are properly maintained until the evening of Holy Saturday.
Lend (noun)
The lumbar region; loin.
Lend (noun)
The loins; flank; buttocks.
Lend (verb)
To returned.
“I will only lend you my car if you fill up the tank.”
“I lent her 10 euros to pay for the train tickets, and she paid me back the next day.”
Lend (verb)
To make a loan.
Lend (verb)
To be suitable or applicable, to fit.
“Poems do not lend themselves to translation easily.”
“The long history of the past does not lend itself to a simple black and white interpretation.”
Lend (verb)
To afford; to grant or furnish in general.
“Can you lend me some assistance?”
“The famous director lent his name to the new film.”
Lend (verb)
To borrow.
Lent (noun)
alternative form of Lent|
Lent (verb)
simple past tense and past participle of lend
Lend (verb)
grant to (someone) the use of (something) on the understanding that it will be returned
“Stewart asked me to lend him my car”
“the pictures were lent to each museum in turn”
Lend (verb)
allow (a person or organization) the use of (a sum of money) under an agreement to pay it back later, typically with interest
“banks lend only to their current account customers”
“no one would lend him the money”
Lend (verb)
contribute or add (a quality) to
“the smile lent his face a boyish charm”
Lend (verb)
accommodate or adapt oneself to
“John stiffly lent himself to her aromatic embraces”
Lend (verb)
(of a thing) be suitable for
“bay windows lend themselves to blinds”
Lent (noun)
(in the Christian Church) the period preceding Easter, which is devoted to fasting, abstinence, and penitence in commemoration of Christ’s fasting in the wilderness. In the Western Church it runs from Ash Wednesday to Holy Saturday, and so includes forty weekdays.
Lent (noun)
the boat races held at Cambridge University in the Lent term.