Lent and Ash Wednesday

LENT, awaiting the rebirth of Spring

Lent is the 40th day before Easter, the 6 ½ week period from Ash Wednesday to Easter Sunday. During Lent some fast and refrain from various pleasures (certain foods, alcohol, hobbies, etc). This is said to be preparing to commemorate the passion, death, and resurrection of Christ. Some Christian denominations associate this fast with the 40 day fast of Jesus in the wilderness before being tempted by Satan. However, that 40 day fast by Jesus was a total fast and had nothing to with His resurrection, or Easter.

The word Lent means "spring" from the Old English word "Lencten". In one version of the Babylonian myth, Tammuz the great hunter was slain while hunting. Pagans mourned for him through weeping ceremonies for 40 days. During the days of Ezekiel this ritual was even found among the Israelites. Ezekiel 8:6-18 (verse 14) So He brought me to the door of the north gate of the Lord's house; and to my dismay, women were sitting there weeping for Tammuz.

Worshipers of Tammuz cried with Ishtar believing that his rebirth would mean the regeneration of life within nature. Similar feasts are found throughout pagan peoples of all ages. The ancient Egyptians observed a 40 day fast in honor of Osiris.

The sign of the cross rubbed with ashes is not exclusive to Christianity; it is also found throughout the ancient world and was used as a symbol of the pagan Gods. The Tau cross was put on the foreheads of new believers coming into the Mysteries of Mithras. The act of sprinkling ashes directly on the head, which is also done on Ash Wednesday, was done in honor of the pagan Norse god Odin. 

The placing of ashes above the brow, on the forehead, always occurred on Wednesday, the day named in honor of Odin.

Why is lent observed today? There are no scriptural references telling us to observe such a fast. If the Christian veil of Lent is swept aside we can easily see the ancient pagan fast.

Text quoted heavily from The Pagan Origins of Christian Holidays by Elisha Israel and various Wikipedia pages.