Another year, another excuse to photograph some daffodils—sorry, Lenten Lilies, as they are so charmingly called in Yorkshire. Whether these particular specimens on the bank of the River Leven in Great Ayton are the pure, wild, English variety is highly doubtful, but that won’t be such a tragedy.
Now, in case anyone was unaware, this name refers to Lent. Not the past participle of “lend” (I hope you appreciate that clarification), but the Christian season of fasting and reflection before Easter, conveniently shortened from the Old English ‘lencten’, meaning Spring itself. So far, so good. But here is where things start to unravel: how long is Lent actually?
The conventional wisdom is that Lent lasts 40 days, from Ash Wednesday to Holy Saturday. This year, that is from the 5th of March to the 19th of April. A minor issue: that is 46 days. But never mind, some say it ends on Holy Thursday instead, the 17th of April. Still not 40 days, but 44. A mere discrepancy, surely.
Apparently, Sundays do not count, because they are “days of abstinence only”, so you can eat but don’t drink. Even with this little loophole, the arithmetic remains unconvincing.
Perhaps the truth is that 40 is just a nice round, arbitrary number. After all, here are several biblical events that supposedly lasted 40 days: the Great Flood, Moses loitering on Mount Sinai, the Israelites spying on Canaan, Goliath taunting Saul, Elijah’s long walk to Mount Horeb, Jesus fasting in the desert, and the period between his resurrection and ascension. A pattern emerges. Some scholars have suggested that “40” simply means “quite a lot” or, if you prefer, “umpteen.”
So, if you find yourself faltering in your Lenten discipline, do not worry. Just take one of your six permitted “cheat days,” because, frankly, nobody really knows how many days it is supposed to be.
Or just maybe the answer comes from that Ultimate Question of Life, the Universe, and Everything revealed in The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy — 42.
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