What is Lent? The Christian Festival Before Easter - Behind the News

Описание: Lent is an important religious festival and it usually involves fasting or giving something up for 40 days. We talk to some kids who are observing Lent to find out more about it and why it’s important to them.

CHRISTIAN: Hi, my name's Christian.

ALYSA: My name is Alysa.

SAMMY: And my name's Sammy.

NARVADA: Hi my name is Narvada.

KIDS: And we're going to talk to you about Lent. Wooohooo.

Lent is a very important tradition for most Christian people. My family are Catholic. We go to a Catholic church and a catholic school. Lent goes for 40 days and comes just before Easter. Lent is the time when Jesus was tempted by the devil for 40 days. That's why for Lent, people often give things up. They might fast, which means to not eat very much. They might give up a type of food, like chocolate or coffee or even a habit, like watching TV or playing on your tablet. You could promise to consider others less fortunate than us. At our school we fundraise.

The idea of Lent is to become more closer to god. On Sundays, you don't have to fast, it's a rest day. In Lent people don't eat meat on Friday's, some people have fish instead. The day before Lent is Shrove Tuesday when you get to eat pancakes. Then there's Ash Wednesday. That's the day when the priest puts ashes on your head in the shape of crosses. The ashes come from special palms blessed by the priest the year before. The priest asks us to bring palms in to remember when Jesus was welcomed as a king. Ash Wednesday comes on different days every year but it's always 46 days before Easter.

We're half way through Lent, and I've chosen to be kind to everyone. The last day of Lent is Holy Thursday, which reminds us of when Jesus had the last supper and washed the feet of his disciples. Then there's Good Friday. Good Friday is the most important holiday of the year for Christians, as that's when Jesus was crucified. We eat fish and there's a public holiday, so we don't have to go to school. Then on Sunday, there's a big celebration. We celebrate Easter Sunday because it reminds us of Jesus's resurrection. We eat Easter eggs and hot cross buns and we go to church. Easter eggs are important because they remind us of new life and we have a feast with our family. Hallelujah.

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