Lent

== Holy days within the season of Lent ==
{{more citations needed section|date=January 2013}}
[[File:Ash Wednesday at Keystone United Methodist Church.jpg|thumb|upright=0.9|A Methodist minister distributing ashes to [[confirmand]]s kneeling at the [[altar rail|chancel rails]] on Ash Wednesday]]
[[File:5208-20080122-1255UTC--jerusalem-calvary.jpg|thumb|upright=0.9|[[Church of the Holy Sepulchre]], [[Old Jerusalem]] on [[Golgotha]], [[Mount Calvary]], where tradition claims Jesus was [[Crucifixion|crucified]] and died]]

There are several holy days within the season of Lent:
* [[Clean Monday]] is the first of Lent in [[Eastern Christianity]].
* [[Ash Wednesday]] is the first day of Lent in [[Western Christianity]], such as the [[Roman Rite]] of the Catholic Church, the Lutheran Churches, and Methodist Churches. However, in the [[Ambrosian Rite]] and the [[Mozarabic Rite]], there is no Ash Wednesday: Lent begins on the first Sunday and the fast begins on the first Monday.
* Lenten Sundays
# The first Sunday in Lent marks one of the weeks during which [[Ember days]] are observed in Western Christian churches.
# <li value="4">The fourth Sunday in Lent, which marks the halfway point between Ash Wednesday and Easter Sunday, is referred to as [[Laetare Sunday]] by Catholics, Anglicans, and many other Christians, because of the traditional Entrance Antiphon of the Mass. Due to the more "joyful" character of the day (since ''laetare'' in Latin means "rejoice"), the priest, deacon, and subdeacon have the option of wearing vestments of a rose colour (pink) instead of violet.</li>
#* Additionally, the fourth Lenten Sunday, [[Mothering Sunday]], which has become known as Mother's Day in the United Kingdom and an occasion for honouring mothers of children, has its origin in a 16th-century celebration of the [[Mother Church]].
#* The fourth Sunday of Lent has also been called "[[Rosalia (festival)#Rose Sundays|Rose Sunday]]"; on this day the [[Pope]] blesses the [[Golden Rose]], a jewel in the shape of a rose.
# The fifth Sunday in Lent, also known in some denominations as [[Passion Sunday]] (and in some denominations also applies to [[Palm Sunday]]) marks the beginning of [[Passiontide]].
# The sixth Sunday in Lent, commonly called [[Palm Sunday]], marks the beginning of [[Holy Week]], the final week of Lent immediately preceding Easter.
:* The Sundays in Lent carry Latin names in German [[Lutheranism]], derived from the beginning of the Sunday's [[introit]]. The first is called Invocabit, the second Reminiscere, the third Oculi, the fourth [[Laetare Sunday|Laetare]], the fifth Judica, the sixth [[Palm Sunday]].
* Wednesday of Holy Week, [[Holy Wednesday]] (also sometimes known as [[Spy Wednesday]]) commemorates [[Judas Iscariot]]'s bargain to betray Jesus.<ref>{{Citation |date=December 2013 | title = OED Online | contribution = spy, ''n''. | contribution-url =http://www.oed.com/view/Entry/188063?redirectedFrom=Spy+Wednesday | publisher = Oxford University Press | quote=Spy Wednesday ''n''. in Irish use, the Wednesday before Easter.}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Packer |first=George Nichols |title = Our Calendar: The Julian Calendar and Its Errors, how Corrected by the Gregorian |place = Corning, NY | publisher = [The author] | year = 1893 | page = 112 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=UZA4AQAAMAAJ | access-date = 15 December 2013 | quote = Spy Wednesday, so called in allusion to the betrayal of Christ by Judas, or the day on which he made the bargain to deliver Him into the hands of His enemies for 30 pieces of silver.}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=McNichol |first1=Hugh |title=Spy Wednesday conversion to Holy Wednesday |publisher=Catholic Online |year=2014 |url=http://www.catholic.org/featured/headline.php?ID=4225 |access-date=10 May 2014 |ref=none}}</ref>
* Thursday of Holy Week is known as [[Maundy Thursday]] or Holy Thursday, and is a day Christians commemorate the [[Last Supper]] shared by Christ with his [[Disciple (Christianity)|disciples]].
* The next day is [[Good Friday]], which begins the Easter Triduum; on this day Christians remember Jesus' [[crucifixion]], death, and burial.

=== Easter Triduum ===
{{main|Easter Triduum}}
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In the Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran, Old Catholic, and many other traditions, the [[Easter Triduum]] is a three-day event that begins Maundy Thursday evening, with the entrance hymn of the Mass of the Lord's Supper. After this celebration, the consecrated [[host (liturgy)|Hosts]] are taken solemnly from the altar to a place of reposition, where the faithful are invited to meditate in the presence of the consecrated Hosts.This is the Church's response to Jesus' question to the disciples sleeping in the [[Gethsemane|Garden of Gethsemane]], "Could you not watch with me one hour?" On the next day, the liturgical commemoration of the Passion of Jesus Christ is celebrated at 3&nbsp;pm, unless a later time is chosen due to work schedules.

This service consists of readings from the [[Bible|Scriptures]], especially [[John the Evangelist]]'s account of the [[Passion (Christianity)|Passion]] of Jesus, followed by prayers, veneration of the cross of Jesus, and a communion service at which the hosts consecrated at the evening Mass of the day before are distributed. The [[Easter Vigil]] during the night between Holy Saturday afternoon and Easter Sunday morning starts with the blessing of a fire and a special candle, and with readings from Scripture associated with [[baptism]]. Then, the [[Gloria in Excelsis Deo]] is sung, water is blessed, baptism and [[confirmation]] of adults may take place, the people are invited to renew the promises of their own baptism, and finally, Mass is celebrated in the usual way from the Preparation of the Gifts onwards.

Holy Week and the season of Lent, depending on [[Christian denomination|denomination]] and local [[Convention (norm)|custom]], end with Easter Vigil at sundown on Holy Saturday or on the morning of Easter Sunday. It is custom for some churches to hold sunrise services which include open air celebrations in some places.