DYour pants are pinching at the waistband, your back hurts, your head is buzzing. There are many signs that it was just too much: too much food, too much work in front of the laptop or too much beer. A small or larger break wouldn't be bad now.
For several years now, many people have been following theme months that promise just such breaks. Veganuary, Dry January, Dry July, Stoptober: only vegan food throughout January, no alcohol in January or July, stop smoking in September. That's the meaning behind these names. These months are very popular. The need for renunciation seems to be there.
This is certainly also because doing without is easier together. This makes it easier to get through this not-so-easy task. But the new trends have one problem: they are limited to a generally defined goal in a clear period of time.
What is special about Christian fasting?
But often what we want to let go of is a personal goal and not what the theme month calls for. What if your problem is too much social media consumption? Dry January doesn't help. Or too much work? Stoptober doesn't help.
One solution to this could be to observe Christian Lent. While in the past it was a matter of abstaining from meat between Shrovetide and Easter and only eating once a day, that has changed. Christian fasting today is more about reflecting on yourself and thinking about what you could do differently in your life or why some things don't go as well as they could.
The meaning of Lent in the church year
In addition to the normal annual count from January to December, there is also a Christian season. This is called the church year. It begins in December with Advent, continues with Christmas, Lent, Easter, Pentecost and ends in November with Dead Sunday. The church year is integrated into the seasonal rhythm and connects the course of the year with church themes.
It follows the biblical story of the life of Jesus for a time, whose birth is celebrated on Christmas and whose death is the focus on Good Friday. Many of these church times still shape life in Germany today, even if people often no longer know the religious background and are not interested in it.
At the beginning of the church year in December, the days are particularly short and it gets colder. Fairy lights that illuminate the gardens, baking cookies, visiting the Christmas market and then, as the highlight, Christmas itself are a good contrast. Winter is still long after Christmas. In church terms, the Christmas season doesn't end until the beginning of February. In Catholic tradition, Christmas trees stand until Candlemas, which is celebrated on February 2nd. Then comes Carnival. This is a great place to brave the winter and prepare for the last tough stretch until spring. The cold winter often ends at Easter, it becomes real summer at Pentecost, and the Assumption of Mary is the highlight of the warm season in August, which is celebrated as Ferragosto, especially in Italy. Autumn brings to mind the transience of life through falling leaves and bare nature. The time of church commemoration of the dead at the end of the church year falls in the dark November period. The religious days and times manage to remain intact even in a post-religious era without completely losing their meaning.
Lent in preparation for Easter
The Christian period of Lent occurs at the end of winter, in the seven weeks before Easter. It falls at a time of year in which the weather is often rainy and cold. The winter has already lasted a long time and the longing for spring is getting stronger. Lent takes these factors and reinforces them again.
During this time, Christians traditionally prepare for Easter, which is considered the most important church festival. During the Easter Vigil, religious symbolism and the mood of the people overlap. The dark time will finally be driven away. Symbolic of this is the Easter light, a large candle that is lit during church services. In some regions of Germany Easter fires are also lit. Another name for Lent is Passionzeit, which means time of suffering. According to religious tradition, Jesus is said to have suffered on the cross before his death. He knew that he would die and that his disciples would deny him.
Just as he suffered, believers should also suffer in order to prepare for Easter. Fasting was part of it. Because of the previous renunciation, the redemption that is celebrated religiously at Easter is longed for all the more: after suffering comes joy. That's what Easter stands for. Here Christians celebrate that Jesus was crucified, but then rose again from the dead.
When is Lent in Christianity?
The timing of Easter is calculated according to a rule from the 4th century. In the Catholic and Protestant Churches it always falls on the first Sunday after the first full moon after the beginning of spring. The exact time of Lent is calculated from Easter.
It begins with Ash Wednesday, which is the 46th day before Easter Sunday. This year that is February 14th. However, the length of Lent is usually given as 40 days. This is because Sundays are not counted as fasting days. So if you count 40 days from Ash Wednesday without Sundays, you end up with the Saturday before Easter as the end of Lent. Lent ends exactly on the night on which Christians celebrate the resurrection of Jesus. In 2024 this is the night of March 30th to March 31st.
Why is Lent 40 days long?
There used to be more periods of fasting. In addition to the Lent period between Carnival and Easter, Advent was also celebrated as Lent. And Friday was considered a weekly fasting day. This can still be seen today in the fact that fish is served in many canteens in Germany on Fridays. Unlike meat, fish was allowed to be eaten on fasting days.
The fact that Lent lasts 40 days is due to the church year. But there are also biblical reasons for the 40 days. The Bible tells us that Jesus went into the desert after his baptism. Satan tried to seduce him there. During this time Jesus is said to have fasted for 40 days. And the prophet Moses is also said to have fasted for 40 days. When he was on Mount Sinai, where, according to biblical tradition, he met God himself and was given the Ten Commandments, he fasted. The number 40 also commemorates the duration of the biblical flood, which is said to have lasted 40 years, and the duration of the migration of the people of Israel through the desert. They are said to have wandered around for 40 years after the end of the Egyptian exile.
What does the Bible say about fasting?
Even though the Bible talks about fasting in many places, there are no fasting rules for Christians. The Hebrew Bible, which is the first part of the Christian Bible, which Christians call the Old Testament, contains dietary rules and many other regulations. But the Christians did not adopt this for themselves. The Christian fasting rules all emerged in post-biblical times.
How does fasting work for Christians?
Traditionally, Christians abstained from meat, dairy products and eggs during Lent. In addition, we only ate once a day. In the past, observing the rules of fasting was associated with the idea of pleasing God. It was believed that God counts people's good and bad deeds. By fasting, people could increase their accounts of good deeds. The Church monitored these human attempts to show God that one was pious. She also established the rules of fasting.
But this way of thinking has long been outdated. Very few Christians still believe that they can win God over by fasting. And the Christian churches no longer provide clear rules for fasting.
What should you give up during Lent?
So the meaning of Lent has changed. This can be seen in the name that the Protestant fasting campaign has: “Seven weeks without“. The Protestant church calls out under the name “Come over! “Seven weeks without going it alone” encourages people to get involved and work on social interaction.
The Christian Lent is something of a model for Dry January and Co. Today, it's less about giving up certain things like meat or alcohol than it is about living consciously or giving up something specific that suits you . Everyone can come up with their own fasting motto. Giving up luxury products for a while or giving up Instagram or Tiktok for a month – such things are often goals of Christian fasting today.
But it can also be even less specific. If you notice that you are often in a bad mood and are easily offended by other people, you can resolve to be friendlier. If you notice that you are often impatient, you can decide to pay particular attention to being more relaxed and not always wanting everything right away.
It is definitely helpful to have a clear goal: stopping fasting at Easter helps with motivation. And Easter also invites you to celebrate a big breaking of the fast.
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