Lent
a period of fasting
TRANSLATION
Lent = die christliche Fastenzeit --- GOOGLE INDEX Lent: approximately 22,500,000 Google hits
STATISTICS
IN THE PRESS
Two senior bishops urge people to cut back on carbon for LENT instead of chocolate or alcohol.
(BBC News)
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Mark Gauvreau Judge discusses giving up watching television for LENT and afterward deciding to go without television permanently.
(Washington Post)
(BBC News)
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Mark Gauvreau Judge discusses giving up watching television for LENT and afterward deciding to go without television permanently.
(Washington Post)
Did you
know?
Lent (short for Lenten, from Old English "lencten" meaning Spring)
noun
- in the Christian religion, the 40 days before Easter, a period during which, for religious reasons, some people stop doing particular things that they enjoy
(Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary)
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WORD ORIGIN
In Western Christianity, Lent begins on Ash Wednesday and concludes on Holy Saturday. It lasts 40 days, although the six Sundays during this period are not counted.
Some Christians give up certain things during Lent as a form of fasting. The Pope once encouraged people to give up mobile phone and computer technology on each of the Fridays leading up to Easter.
Most people refrain from things like favourite foods (chocolate) and cigarettes however. Another popular form of fasting during Lent is refraining from alcohol, like the Irish man in the story that follows. Enjoy!
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SMUGGLE OWAD INTO TODAY'S CONVERSATION:
An Irishman moves into a tiny hamlet in County Kerry, walks into the pub,and promptly orders three beers. The bartender raises his eyebrows but serves the man three beers, which he drinks quietly at a table alone.
An hour later the man has finished the three beers and orders three more. This happens yet again. The next evening the man again orders and drinks three beers at a time, several times. Soon the entire town is whispering about the "Man Who Orders Three Beers."
Finally, a week later, the bartender broaches the subject on behalf of the town.
"I don't mean to pry, but folks around here are wondering why you always order three beers?"
"Tis odd, isn't it?" the man replies. "You see, I have two brothers - one went to America and the other to Australia. We promised each other that we would always order an extra two beers whenever we drank as a way of keeping up the family bond."
The bartender and the whole town were pleased with this answer, and soon the "Man Who Orders Three Beers" became a local celebrity and a source of pride to the hamlet, even to the extent that out-of-towners would come to watch him drink.
Then, one day, the man comes in and orders only two beers. The bartender pours them with a heavy heart. This continues for the rest of the evening. He orders only two beers. The word flies around town. Prayers are offered for the soul of one of the brothers.
The next day, the bartender says to the man, "Folks around here, me first of all, want to offer condolences to you for the death of your brother. You know, the two beers and all."
The man ponders this for a moment, then replies, "You'll be happy to hear that my two brothers are alive and well. It's just that I, myself, have decided to give up drinking for Lent."
noun
- in the Christian religion, the 40 days before Easter, a period during which, for religious reasons, some people stop doing particular things that they enjoy
(Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary)
---
WORD ORIGIN
In Western Christianity, Lent begins on Ash Wednesday and concludes on Holy Saturday. It lasts 40 days, although the six Sundays during this period are not counted.
Some Christians give up certain things during Lent as a form of fasting. The Pope once encouraged people to give up mobile phone and computer technology on each of the Fridays leading up to Easter.
Most people refrain from things like favourite foods (chocolate) and cigarettes however. Another popular form of fasting during Lent is refraining from alcohol, like the Irish man in the story that follows. Enjoy!
---
SMUGGLE OWAD INTO TODAY'S CONVERSATION:
An Irishman moves into a tiny hamlet in County Kerry, walks into the pub,and promptly orders three beers. The bartender raises his eyebrows but serves the man three beers, which he drinks quietly at a table alone.
An hour later the man has finished the three beers and orders three more. This happens yet again. The next evening the man again orders and drinks three beers at a time, several times. Soon the entire town is whispering about the "Man Who Orders Three Beers."
Finally, a week later, the bartender broaches the subject on behalf of the town.
"I don't mean to pry, but folks around here are wondering why you always order three beers?"
"Tis odd, isn't it?" the man replies. "You see, I have two brothers - one went to America and the other to Australia. We promised each other that we would always order an extra two beers whenever we drank as a way of keeping up the family bond."
The bartender and the whole town were pleased with this answer, and soon the "Man Who Orders Three Beers" became a local celebrity and a source of pride to the hamlet, even to the extent that out-of-towners would come to watch him drink.
Then, one day, the man comes in and orders only two beers. The bartender pours them with a heavy heart. This continues for the rest of the evening. He orders only two beers. The word flies around town. Prayers are offered for the soul of one of the brothers.
The next day, the bartender says to the man, "Folks around here, me first of all, want to offer condolences to you for the death of your brother. You know, the two beers and all."
The man ponders this for a moment, then replies, "You'll be happy to hear that my two brothers are alive and well. It's just that I, myself, have decided to give up drinking for Lent."
