What does lent actually mean?

Lent lasts from Ash Wednesday (yesterday) until Easter. 40 days, not counting Sundays. It's a time of sacrifice and self-denial, meant to bring us closer to God through replicating in some small part the suffering of Christ. Traditionally it's been observed through fasting, but in modern times people have generalized "fasting" to mean abstaining from a behavior as well as abstaining from food, and while the word "fasting" can only really refer to food, it's an accepted practice to give up a certain behavior in lieu of actual fasting.

Lent started this past Wednesday (March 9th Ash Wednesday) and ends on Easter. It is a time of contemplation on Jesus Christ and what he has done in his suffering and death for sinners. It ends on Easter because that is when Christians celebrate his resurrection from the dead.

i gave up facebook..figuring i could do without 40 days of gossiup......I made it through day one...that's a good thing looking forward to the next 39 days:)

I encourage my students instead of giving something up, to give something in return. God doesn't want people to suffer, God is about Love. So I tell them to pick something that will bring happiness not only to themselves but to others, like give at least one compliment to someone a day, a good deed, help someone out......

I'd always remembered that when I was a girl in catholic school the nuns said that it just wasn't about "giving up" something for Lent, but that we should also consider "doing something good"

One year when I was in my Mid-20s I didn't "give up" anything for Lent. I tried to do a good deed for a stranger everyday during lent. That was much harder than I'd expected.

But I really liked knowing that my "sacrifice" benefited someone else.

Isn't Lent a religious, Catholic thing? I'm wondering why everyone is doing it even if they aren't religious/Catholic.
My ex roommate is not religious and she had an FB update status that said she was going to give up soda for lent. I asked her if she was Catholic....

Instead of saying you want to give something up for Lent decide to just give something up because you know it's unhealthy or that it's taking up too much of your time or for whatever reason. Not because of something religious that happens ones a year and that is something one is supposed to do according to their religious beliefs.

And for the record, I am a Christian, I don't judge at all. But I believe if you are doing something like this, you should do it with full understanding of what you are doing and not because it is a fad.

Good luck with what you want to give up! I've tried giving up facebook and that didn't last too long and having a cellphone with the app doesn't help either lol.

Once again, good luck and only give something up because its what you want to do

p.s. I also hope some people were able to clarify for you. I am not Catholic so I can't help you with that.

People who celebrate Lent (such as myself) don't eat meat on Fridays or Ash Wednesday from Ash Wednesday to Easter. On those days you're supposed to be fasting, which generally means eating only one full meal and two smaller meals on those days. (Of course, there are different expectations for people if they're kids, aged, sick, etc.)

If you're a hardcore Byzantine Catholic (like I was raised), then you can up the bar and avoid eating all meat, dairy, and animal by-products, like butter, eggs, mayonnaise, milk, etc.

However, most religious people celebrating Lent would say that you shouldn't look at Lent as an opportunity to lose weight; rather, it's about making a conscious sacrifice for spiritual (not physical) gain.