What does the word ' Lent ' mean as in ' Giving up for Lent " .?

Question

I was raised Presbyterian. Now am non-denominational...simply Spiritual. I often hear the phrase, and much on this site lately, the phrase..." What are you giving up for Lent ?"

I know that ' Giving up for Lent ' is the concept that a person gives up something such as a favorite food, favorite past time etc. in honor and thought of when Jesus Christ sacrificed his life for the pathway of us.

Yet, what does the one actual word " Lent " mean ?
.

Answer 1

The English word "Lent" derives from the Germanic root for "Spring" (Old English "lencten" and the Anglo-Saxon name for March, "lenct").

Answer 2

The English word "Lent" come from the Middle English word lenten and the Old English word lencten meaning the season of spring.

The Catholic Church and many other Christians Churches follow the Biblical practice of Jesus Christ and the Jews in setting aside days where the entire Church fasts and prays as one in a attitude of constant renewal.

By the solemn forty days of Lent the Church unites herself each year to the mystery of Jesus in the desert and in spiritual preparation for the celebration of His Passion, Death, and Resurrection.

This season of penance is an intense moments of the Church's penitential practice and are particularly appropriate for spiritual exercises, penitential liturgies, pilgrimages as signs of penance, voluntary self-denial such as fasting and almsgiving, and charitable and missionary works.

With love in Christ.

Answer 3

Lent is period of fasting and repentance traditionally observed by Catholics and some Protestant denominations in preparation for Easter. The length of the Lenten fast, was established in the 4th century as 40 days. During this time, participants eat sparingly, or simply give up a particular food or habit. Ash Wednesday and Lent began as a way for Catholics to remind themselves to repent of their sins in a similar manner to how people in the Old Testament repented in sackcloth, ashes, and fasting (Esther 4:1-3; Jeremiah 6:26; Daniel 9:3; Matthew 11:21).
However, over the centuries it has developed a much more "sacramental" value. Many Catholics understand giving something up for Lent as a way to gain blessing from God. The Bible does not teach that such acts have any merit with God (Isaiah 64:6). In fact, the New Testament teaches us that our acts of fasting and repentance should be done in a manner that does not attract attention to ourselves: “When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show men they are fasting. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, so that it will not be obvious to men that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you” (Matthew 6:16-18).
Fasting is a good thing when it is done with a Biblical perspective. It is good and pleasing to God when we give up sinful habits and practices. There is absolutely nothing wrong with setting aside a time where we focus on Jesus' death and resurrection. However, these "practices" are things we should be doing every day of the year, not just for 40 days between Ash Wednesday and Easter. If you feel led of the Lord to observe Lent, you are free to do so. Be sure to focus on the time as you repenting from your sins and consecrating yourself to God - not on trying to earn God's favor or increase His love for you!

He did for you. You don't do for HIM.
Thanks is sufficient.
It is a religious practice that I do not participate in.

Answer 4

As for the actual definition, I consulted 4 dictionaries that all define it as "a season of penitence". It's also a past participle of "lend" and means "to contribute or impart".

The actual giving up of something is meant to resemble not the crucifiction, but the 40 days when Jesus wandered in the wilderness and resisted the temptations of Satan.

Answer 5

The word Lent is apparently derived from the Old English lencten, which means "lengthen." It refers to the lengthening of the daylight hours that occurs in the northern hemisphere as spring approaches. It is in this period of transition from late winter to early spring that the season of Lent falls.

In Latin, Lent is quadragesima which means forty days. In Greek, it is tessarakoste (fortieth), a word formed on the analogy of Pentecost (pentekoste).
Period of Lent
The season of Lent is the period of forty days before the celebration of the great feast of the Church, Easter

May God bless you

Answer 6

http://www.cin.org/users/james/files/lent.htm
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/lent

the first one gives more on lent as in the season,the second gives some various meanings as to what lent,as in the word,means. look for the one that is in reference to your question.

Answer 7

For the best answers, search on this site https://shorturl.im/HeecY

Yes, basically. A term is a period of time. In your case, the period of time for money to be payed.

Answer 8

Pretty good arguments here.

Answer 9

Here ya go!

Answer 10

The forty day period is symbolic of the forty days spent by Jesus in the wilderness and possibly the forty hours he spent entombed. The number forty as many other Biblical significances: the forty days Moses spent on Mount Sinai with God; the forty days and nights Elijah spent walking to Mt. Horeb; God makes it rain for forty days and forty nights in the story of Noah; the Hebrew people wandered forty years traveling to the Promised Land; Jonah in his prophecy of judgment gave the city of Nineveh forty days grace in which to repent.

Jesus is said to have retreated into the wilderness, where he fasted for forty days, and was tempted by the Devil. Jesus overcame all of the devilish temptations of the lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes, and the pride of life by citing Holy Scripture to the devil, at which point the Devil left Him and Holy Angels ministered to Jesus, and he began His Galilean ministry.

The Lenten period of forty days owes its origin to the Latin word quadragesima, signifying forty hours. This referred to the forty hours of total fast which preceded the Easter celebration in the early Church.[1] The main ceremony was the baptizing of the initiates on Easter Eve. The fast was in preparation to receive this sacrament. Later, the period from Good Friday until Easter Day was extended to six days, to correspond with the six weeks of training, necessary to instruct the converts who were to be baptized.

Initially the word simply meant spring, and later became associated with the fast. The English word lent derives from the Germanic root for Spring (specifically Old English lencten; also the Anglo-Saxon name for March - lenct - as the main part of Lent, before Easter, usually occurred in March).

A strict schedule was adhered to in the teaching of the converts. In Jerusalem near the close of the fourth century, classes were held throughout seven weeks of Lent for three hours each day. With the imposition of Christianity as the state religion of Rome during this century, its character was endangered by the great influx of new members. To combat this hazard, the Lenten fast and practices of self-renunciation were required of all Christians. The less zealous of the converts were thus brought more securely into the Christian fold.

[edit] Customs during the time of Lent

Formerly Lent was referred to by the term quadragesima (or the "fortieth day" before Easter). This nomenclature is preserved in Romance, Slavic and Celtic languages (for example, Spanish cuaresma, Portuguese quaresma, French carême, Italian quaresima, Croatian Korizma, Irish Carghas, and Welsh C(a)rawys). The name change occurred in the late Middle Ages as Western sermons began to be spoken in the local vernacular instead of Latin. As such, the use of this particular term to describe the period at this point is unique to English.

There are traditionally forty days in Lent which are marked by fasting, both from foods and festivities, and by other acts of penance. The three traditional practices to be taken up with renewed vigor during Lent are prayer (justice towards God), fasting (justice towards self), and almsgiving (justice towards neighbor). Today, some people give up something they enjoy, add something that will bring them closer to God, and often give the time or money spent doing that to charitable purposes or organizations.[2]

In the Roman Catholic Church, and many other liturgical Christian denominations, Maundy Thursday (also called "Holy Thursday", especially by Roman Catholics), Good Friday, and Holy Saturday form the Easter Triduum. Lent is a season of grief that necessarily ends with a great celebration of Easter, it is known in Eastern Orthodox circles as the season of "Bright Sadness". It is a season of sorrowful reflection which is punctuated by breaks in the fast on Sundays.

The Lent semi-fast may have originated for practical reasons: during the era of subsistence agriculture in the West as food stored away in the previous autumn was running out, or had to be used up before it went bad in store, and little or no new food-crop was expected soon (compare the period in Spring which British gardeners call the "hungry gap").

In the Roman Catholic Mass as well as the Lutheran Divine Service and Anglican Eucharist, the Gloria in Excelsis Deo is not sung during the Lenten season, disappearing on Ash Wednesday and not returning until the moment of the Resurrection during the Easter Vigil. On major feast days, the Gloria in Excelsis Deo is recited, but this in no way diminishes the penitential character of the season; it simply reflects the joyful character of the Mass of the day in question. It is also used on Holy Thursday. Likewise, the Alleluia is not sung during Lent; it is replaced before the Gospel reading by a seasonal acclamation.

Traditionally, the Alleluia was omitted at Mass beginning at Septuagesima, but since the Second Vatican Council, it has become customary to retain it until Ash Wednesday, although many traditionalists continue to practice the former custom.

[edit] Pre-Lenten festivals
Lent personified at a Carnival celebration. Detail of 1559 painting "The Battle between Carnival and Lent" by Pieter Bruegel the Elder.
Lent personified at a Carnival celebration. Detail of 1559 painting "The Battle between Carnival and Lent" by Pieter Bruegel the Elder.

Although originally of pagan content, the traditional carnival celebrations which precede Lent in many cultures have become associated with the season of fasting if only because they are a last opportunity for excess before Lent begins. The most famous of pre-Lenten carnivals in the West is Shrove Tuesday or Mardi Gras.

[edit] Fasting and abstinence

Fasting during Lent was more severe in ancient times than today. Socrates Scholasticus reports that in some places, all animal products were strictly forbidden, while others will permit fish, others permit fish and fowl, others prohibit fruit and eggs, and still others eat only bread. In some places, believers abstained from food for an entire day, others took only one meal each day, while others abstained from all food until 3 o'clock. In most places, however, the practice was to abstain from eating until the evening, when a small meal without meat or alcohol was eaten.

During the early Middle Ages; meat, eggs and dairy products were generally proscribed. However, dispensations for dairy products were given, frequently for a donation, from which several churches are popularly believed to have been built, including the "Butter Tower" of the Rouen Cathedral.

Giraldus Cambrensis in his Itinerary of Archbishop Baldwin through Wales reports that "in Germany and the arctic regions", "great and religious persons", classified the tail of beavers as "fish" because of its superficial resemblance to a fish and their relative abundance.

Today, in the West, the practice is considerably relaxed, though in the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox and Eastern Catholic Churches abstinence from the above-mentioned food products is still commonly practiced, meaning only vegetarian meals are consumed during this time in many Eastern countries. Lenten practices (as well as various other liturgical practices) are more common in Protestant circles than they once were. In the Roman Catholic Church it is tradition to abstain from meat every Friday for the duration of Lent, although fish and dairy products are still permitted. On Ash Wednesday it is customary to fast for the day, with no meat, eating only one full meal, and if necessary, two small meals also.

Current fasting practice in the Roman Catholic Church binds persons over the age of majority and younger than fifty-nine (Canon 1251). Pursuant to Canon 1253, days of fasting and abstinence are set by the national Episcopal conference. On days of fasting, one eats only one full meal, but may eat two smaller meals as necessary to keep up one's strength. The two small meals together must sum to less than the one full meal. Parallel to the fasting laws are the laws of abstinence. These bind those over the age of eighteen. On days of abstinence, the person must not eat meat or poultry. According to canon law, all Fridays of the year, Ash Wednesday and several other days are days of abstinence, though in most countries, the strict requirements of abstinence have been limited by the bishops (in accordance with Canon 1253) to the Fridays of Lent and Ash Wednesday. On other abstinence days, the faithful are invited to perform some other act of penance.

If St. Patrick's Day falls on a Friday, the prohibition against meat may be lifted for North American Catholics of Irish origin who wish to enjoy the traditional meal of corned beef and cabbage. [3]

Fasting during Lent is a way for Christians to identify with Jesus' suffering, which according the Gospel, Christ underwent for the sake of humanity, in order to make propitiation for their failure to keep the laws instituted by God in the Pentateuch. This sacrifice is referred to by Christians variously as a substitutionary death, a redemptive death, and a death which satisfied the perfect justice of God, who actually provided the means for that satisfaction by sending Jesus, said in the Bible to be God's own son, to die in the place of humanity. It is this distinction which fulfills the Hebrews' hope for a messiah (the "Christ" in Greek ) who would save the troubled nation, according to the New Testament writings.

Many modern Protestants and Anglicans consider the observation of Lent to be a choice, rather than an obligation. They may decide to give up a favorite food (e.g. chocolate, alcohol) or activity (e.g. going to the movies, playing video games) for Lent, or they may instead decide to take on a Lenten discipline such as devotions, volunteering for charity work, and so forth. Roman Catholics may also observe Lent in this way, in addition to the dietary restrictions outlined above, though observation is no longer mandatory under the threat of mortal sin. Many Christians who choose not to follow the dietary restrictions cite 1 Timothy 4:1-5 which warns of doctrines that "forbid people to marry and order them to abstain from certain foods, which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and who know the truth."
Liturgical year
Western

* Advent
* Christmastide
* Epiphany
* Lent
* Easter season
* Feast of the Ascension
* Pentecost
* Ordinary Time (Kingdomtide)

Eastern

* Feast of Cross
* Nativity Fast
* Nativity
* Theophany
* Great Lent
* Pascha
* Pentecost
* Transfiguration
* Dormition
* Protection

[edit] Holy Days

There are several holy days within the season of Lent.

* Ash Wednesday is the first day of Lent in Western Christianity.
o Clean Monday (or "Ash Monday") is the first day in Eastern Orthodox Christianity.
* The fourth Sunday within Lent, which marks the halfway point between Ash Wednesday and Easter, is sometimes referred to as Laetare Sunday, particularly by Roman Catholics.
o The Sunday following is also known as Passion Sunday for traditionalist Catholics, though the latter term is also applied to the sixth and last Sunday of Lent, or Palm Sunday.

Palm Sunday marks the beginning of Holy Week, the final week of Lent immediately preceding Easter.

* Wednesday of Holy Week is known as Spy Wednesday to commemorate the days on which Judas spied on Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane before betraying him.
* Thursday is known as Maundy Thursday, or Holy Thursday, and is a day Christians commemorate the Last Supper shared by Christ with his disciples.
* Good Friday follows the next day, in which Christians remember His crucifixion and burial. For Roman Catholics, no Mass is scheduled after Good Friday until the end of Holy week.

Holy Week and the season of Lent, depending on denomination and local custom, end with Easter Vigil at sundown on Holy Saturday or on the morning of Easter Sunday.

In the Roman Catholic and Anglican traditions, the altar linens and priest's vestments are violet during the season of Lent. However, during the holy days the linens often change or are completely removed from the altar. See Liturgical colours.

[edit] Variations and participation from other Christians

Lent does not always involve sacrifice, but rather an offering. For some Christians, giving time to tutor, devoting more time to someone, or working for a non-profit organization is more of a sacrifice than sacrificing food, sex, or a common luxury.

It is also common for many Christians who are not obligated to participate in Lent to not observe Holy Days and other traditional practices. Many Christians who are not obligated to participate by their Church do so willingly. The degree of participation varies greatly from merely giving up eating candy to living on bread and water. The participants will often pray or fast to seek what God's will for them is in regards to Lent.

There are some Christian denominations that do not practice Lent and see it as an obscure tradition that the Church practices without Biblical merit.