Following Fat Tuesday, or as some people know, Mardi Gras, Lent will be taking place. Every year around this time, you will see some classmates with a cross made up of ashes on their forehead. Beginning on Ash Wednesday, the reason for the ashes on March 5th, and ending on Holy Thursday, April 17th, the Lenten season will be taking place. Every year, Christians around the globe prepare during this 40-day journey for the resurrection of Jesus Christ on Easter. The ashes mark not only the beginning of the observation of Lent, but also the repentance and remembrance of mortality. During this time, we should remember and respect that all Earthly life will face an end. The most common forms of preparation include fasting, almsgiving, and prayer. A few denominations including Roman Catholics, Methodists, Eastern Orthodox, and others partake in these preparations. A prevalent form of fasting includes abstaining from flesh meat on Fridays during the season. According to the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis, “Fish do not belong to the flesh meat category.  The Latin word for meat, caro, from which we get English words like carnivore and carnivorous, applies to flesh meat and has never been understood to include Fish.” For this reason, cold-blooded animals that live in the water or use gills can be eaten on this day of fasting. Other forms of fasting include abstaining from phone usage or giving up a much-beloved habit, like drinking caffeine. Almsgiving does not have to be a monetary donation to your church; it can be giving your time and talent to a local charity or giving goods to various causes. Besides fasting and almsgiving, prayer is a prevalent factor of Lent. Although many already pray throughout the year, Lent is a time to dive deeper into their prayer life. Adding another time to pray during the day is a common way that individuals do this. Holy Week, the final week of Lent, is remembering the Passion of Jesus Christ. Easter Sunday marks the end of this journey, where the preparation period becomes a time of celebrating the resurrection of Christ.