Lent is a time where many Christians grow as a person. The reason why Christians sacrifice habits and commodities to show God their commitment and also to highlight Jesus’ ultimate sacrifice for human kind; sacrificing his life on the cross. This will give the Christian more will power. Christians now have 40 days, plenty of time, to prepare themselves for one of the most important festival in the Christian calendar and also because Jesus was in the desert for that amount of time without any food or water, and was being tortured by the devil. Christians beyond doubt consider that it is their own wrong doings which made Jesus to be crucified. That is why Christians act or practice to be self-disciplined, trying to follow in Jesus examples.
It is a custom for Christians on Shrove Thursday, the last day of Lent, to go to their parish and confess to the priest. Lent ends on Good Friday, which Christians celebrate it as the day which Jesus sacrificed his life for the human race. Three days later Christians celebrate Jesus’ resurrection, Easter Sunday.
On Ash Wednesday, most Christians go to church, so that the priest can lay a cross of ash on their foreheads. These ashes they put on their foreheads come from burnt up palm crosses kept from Palm Sunday of the previous year. Christians do this because when Jesus entered Jerusalem, he entered on a donkey instead of a horse meaning that he came for peace not for a religious war with the Romans. Many people at the time did not know this and so threw palm leaves as a sign of victory against the Romans thinking that Jesus would come for war. They would shout ‘Hosannah’ ‘Messiah’.
Palm Sunday is the Sunday before Easter. Also known as Holy Week. Very strict and religious Christians tend to remember Christ’s death. Other Christians which are not that religious be inclined to attend services for each of them individually to understand how Jesus died, why he died and also to understand the meaning why he resurrected. There are not only services on this day but there are also processions held and the Church buildings are beautifully decorated.
h