Drawing on his experience as a Christian, Radek Kowalski, SEO Director explores the meaning behind Lent, the role of fasting and reflection, and how similar practices appear across other faiths around the world. In this guide, he reflects on the purpose of the season, the traditions that shape it, and why the idea of stepping back and reassessing priorities remains relevant today. 

In my previous guide to Advent, I wrote about how the Christian calendar helps create a rhythm through the year. Advent is a season of anticipation and preparation for Christmas. Lent, which arrives a few months later, has a very different tone. 

Where Advent looks forward with hope and expectation, Lent invites us to slow down, reflect, and reset. 

For Christians, Lent is the 40-day season leading up to Easter. It reflects the 40 days Jesus spent fasting in the wilderness before beginning his ministry. Traditionally it’s a time for prayer, fasting and charity — three practices that are meant to help people focus less on routine comforts and more on faith, reflection and helping others. 

As a Christian practicing within the Anglican tradition, Lent is for me less about strict rules and more about intention. For me personally Lent means frequent fasting, prayer, reflection and spending increased amount of time in biblical studies and generously volunteering my time and money to good causes.  

It’s not really about the thing itself. It’s about the pause. 

Ash Wednesday: The Starting Point 

Lent begins with Ash Wednesday, a service that can feel quite powerful even if you’re not used to traditional church rituals. In many churches, a small cross of ash is placed on the forehead with the words: “Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return.” 

It’s a reminder of humility, mortality and the idea that Lent is meant to be a time of honest reflection — about life, priorities and faith. From there, the 40-day journey toward Easter begins.

How Lent Is Observed Across Christian Traditions 

One thing I’ve always found fascinating is that while Lent is shared across Christianity, different traditions observe it in quite different ways. 

Roman Catholic Tradition 

In the Roman Catholic Church, Lent includes specific fasting practices. Catholics traditionally abstain from meat on Fridays during Lent, and many also fast on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday. 

Prayer and reflection are also central, often through devotional practices such as the Stations of the Cross, which reflect on the final hours of Jesus’ life. 

Eastern Orthodox Churches 

In Eastern Orthodox Christianity, Lent is known as Great Lent and is often observed more strictly. Many believers avoid meat, dairy and other animal products for much of the season, following a largely plant-based diet. 

The focus is strongly on spiritual discipline, prayer and preparing for Easter through both physical and spiritual practice.

The Coptic Orthodox Church 

The Coptic Orthodox Church, mainly centred in Egypt, observes one of the longest and most structured Lenten fasts. Many Coptic Christians follow a vegan diet during Lent and place a strong emphasis on daily prayer and communal worship. The tradition highlights the same goal shared across Christianity: preparing spiritually for the celebration of Easter. Despite these differences, the underlying theme across all traditions is remarkably consistent — reflection, renewal and preparation. 

A Wider Tradition of Fasting 

One of the most interesting things about Lent is that fasting itself isn’t unique to Christianity. In fact, many religions have seasons of fasting that serve very similar purposes. 

Judaism 

Christianity emerged from Jewish tradition, and fasting already played an important role in Jewish life long before the early church developed Lenten practices. 

The most well-known example is Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, when Jewish communities observe a 25-hour fast dedicated to repentance, prayer and reconciliation. 

The themes of reflection, humility and spiritual renewal are strikingly familiar. 

Islam 

Another strong parallel is Ramadan, the Islamic month of fasting. During Ramadan, Muslims fast from dawn until sunset, focusing on prayer, generosity and spiritual growth. In some years, Ramadan and Lent even overlap on the calendar, meaning millions of Christians and Muslims around the world are observing seasons of fasting at the same time. 

It’s a reminder that while religions differ, many share common practices aimed at reflection, discipline and compassion. 

Why Lent Still Matters 

In a modern world that rarely slows down, Lent offers something quite unusual: permission to pause. It encourages people to step back from routines, habits and distractions — even in small ways — and consider what really matters. Some people give things up. Others take things up - volunteering, spending more time in prayer, or simply being more intentional about helping others. For me, Lent has always been less about sacrifice and more about perspective. 

A short season in the year to reset priorities, reflect on faith, and prepare for the joy of Easter. And perhaps that’s why it continues to resonate across centuries - and across cultures - as a season that invites us all to slow down and look inward for a while.