When Lent 2024 starts and ends, and why people give things up

With Pancake Day over, the Christian festival of Lent is set to kick off imminently.

While Pancake Day, formally known as Shrove Tuesday, often provides an excuse for people to indulge themselves, Lent encourages people to give things up. This has traditionally included vices like smoking and alcohol as part of the millennia old and deeply symbolic Christian tradition.

Lent has historically been a key Christian practice all over the world, and has been practiced by Catholics, Eastern Orthodox Christians concentrated in Eastern Europe, as well as many sects of Protestants such as those in the Church of England and Lutherans. However, it’s a tradition that is largely ignored by evangelical churches such as Baptists or Pentecostals.

The word “Lent” derives from Anglo Saxon word “lecten”, meaning “spring”, which refers to the lengthening of days that comes at start of spring. The practice of Lent is generally considered to have become commonplace in around 325 AD, though traditions have changed markedly throughout the centuries. It was not uncommon for early Christians to be much stricter with their fasting protocols when compared to the modern era, sometimes eating only one meat-free meal a day and only after 3pm.

When does Lent 2024 start and end?

Lent started on 14 February and will end on 31 March. Easter will follow after.

Many Christians choose to celebrate the beginning of Lent with a celebration known as Ash Wednesday, which often involves special church ceremonies, as well as ritualistic application of ash to forehead. This is Catholic dogma, is mean to represent how all humans eventually “return to ash”.

The majority of Christian denominations end Lent at the start of Holy Week, with Lent officially ending on what’s known as Holy Saturday, just before Easter Sunday (March 31). This, in Christian tradition, is meant to be when Christians celebrate the resurrection of Jesus after he was crucified by the Romans.

Even for the most non-religious Brits this should mean an extra two bank holidays, which will fall on 29 March and 1 April respectively.

What is the meaning behind Lent?

Lent is meant to commemorate the struggles which tested Jesus during the 40 days which he spent in the desert, a series of events that is described in Gospels Matthew, Mark, and Luke.

In this period, Jesus consumed no food and water, while the devil tempted him to make bread out of stones to satisfy his hunger.

The devil also offers him “all of the kingdoms of the world”, and attempted to convince him to throw himself off a tall ledge and use his miraculous powers to have angels save him.

Why do people give things up for Lent?

Specific traditions around Lent vary widely, but it is often looked at as a way to build willpower and strength of character in Catholic dogma.

The current pope, Pope Francis, has continued to publicly promote the virtues of Lent openly. In 2023 he termed the period an opportunity to “rediscover the joy, not of accumulating material goods, but of caring for those who are poor and afflicted”.

The most popular things to give up for Lent are fairly unsurprising, with a list compiled from Twitter data putting alcohol clearly at the top.

The runners-up were chocolate and social media, while junk food and specific social media sites were all represented with the list.

The practice of Lent is not exclusively related to giving things up, many believers instead choose to practice other forms of religious devotion as replacement, which can take take the form of extra prayer or extra daily spiritual meditation.