For years I always thought that Lent was a Catholic observance but it isn't. It is not observed in all religious denominations either. Our family when I was going up were Lutheran and I was too young to even know or notice any difference in our meals. It was only until I attended a Baptist church that I was thrown for a loop when it came across in the sermon one Sunday. I found this link today and thought I would share it here on the forum. It's not lengthy and very informative. To access the link click. Log In
I also thought Lent was observed mostly by Catholics. Having read the article though I wonder whether many Christians know what the true purpose of Lent is, what is expected of them, the birth of the tradition, etc. Since it's a human tradition, Lent to me means nothing. Easter isn't supposed to be a time when people mourn. It should be a time for great joy . . . the yoke of slavery [to sin] is broken.
I assumed all Christian derivations practiced it. Maybe not. I was brought up in a more Baptist/Pentecostal environment and we followed Lent practices - giving up things and the like. My guess is that the concept of the timing is consistent (i.e. pancake day and the run up to Easter) but how it's applied across the Christianity space is different.
It depends how you choose to interpret it. I don't see it as a time of mourning, I see it as a time of returning to the basics and being grateful for them, stripping away all the extras to be able to better connect spiritually to the Lord, and then a time of joy and celebration on Easter, which is amplified from having fasted and lived simply for the 40 days prior. I think a lot more Europeans practice Lent than Americans, but I could be wrong.
