Christians
of a certain stripe—mostly Catholics, Lutherans, Anglicans, Orthodox, and a few
others—are now in the midst of Lent, the season of forty days preceding Easter
that is devoted to prayer, fasting, and charitable works. In the Romance
languages the word for Lent alludes to the forty days, based on the Latin quadragesima, which means “fortieth.” In
Italian Lent is Quaresima, in French
it’s Carême, and in Spanish Cuaresma.
Germans
get right to the point and call the season Fastenzeit,
“fasting time.”
The
etymology of Lent in English is more
complicated. The word cropped up in the fourteenth century, as a shortened form
of Lenten, which derived from Old
English lencten, meaning
“springtime.” The root of lencten is
West Germanic langatinaz, meaning
“long days,” referring to the coming season’s increasing daylight.
The
Bard of Buffalo Bayou thought he might give up versifying for Lent, but he came
to realize that too many penitents rely upon reading his poetic detritus as
atonement for their sins (when self-flagellation is not considered severe
enough).
There
was a devout Christian gent
Who
quit smoking and drinking for Lent,
But he ate so much fudge he
Grew terribly pudgy,
Which
was certainly not his intent.
He
decided he'd keep one bad habit,
Despite
pleas from a priest and an abbot,
So
now he rejects
All that junk food for sex,
And he's thin--but he acts like a rabbit.
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