Fun Facts About Lent

Did he see his shadow?

Lent was invented by Martin Luther in 1532 to wipe out the last traces of good cheer among early Protestants.  

Lent consists of 40 days (without chocolate) and 40 nights (without alcohol), but it seems much longer. It doesn’t count if you give up something you weren’t doing anyway, like eating artichokes.

There are various methods for calculating when Lent begins each year, based on the cycles of the moon and whether the Easter Bunny saw his shadow in February.

If you have ashes applied to your forehead in church on Ash Wednesday morning, all day long people will mistake you for a chimney sweep.

Early catechumens fasted for six days prior to their first communion on Easter Sunday. This fast was reduced to three days once the early church fathers noticed a dropoff in early catechumens due to starvation.

Many denominations omit the “Gloria” from worship during Lent, but unfortunately the pastor usually lengthens his sermon to make up for it.

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