When does Lent start and end each year?

Lent begins on Ash Wednesday and ends at sundown on Holy Saturday, the day before Easter Sunday. Because Easter itself moves around the calendar from year to year, Lent never falls on the same dates twice. Ash Wednesday can land anywhere between early February and early March, and Easter can fall anywhere between March 22 and April 25, depending on the year.

The reason Lent doesn't have a fixed date comes down to how Easter is calculated. Unlike Christmas, which is always December 25, Easter is a movable feast tied to the lunar calendar and the spring equinox. Once Easter's date is set for a given year, everything else in the Lenten season is counted backward and forward from it.

How the date of Easter determines when Lent starts

In Western Christianity, which includes the Catholic Church and most Protestant denominations, Easter falls on the first Sunday after the first full moon following the spring equinox. That rule traces back to decisions made by early church councils trying to standardize a celebration that had been observed on different dates across different regions.

Once Easter is fixed, Ash Wednesday is calculated by counting 46 days backward from Easter Sunday. That number accounts for the traditional 40 days of fasting plus the six Sundays that fall within that stretch, since Sundays are traditionally treated as "mini-Easters" and not counted among the fasting days.

This is why Lent's dates shift by weeks from one year to the next. A year with an early Easter in late March will also have an early Ash Wednesday in early February. A year with a late Easter in April pushes Ash Wednesday closer to the end of February or even into early March.

Why Lent lasts 40 days but actually covers more than 40 calendar days

The number 40 carries deep symbolic weight in the Bible. It echoes the 40 days Jesus spent fasting in the wilderness before beginning his public ministry, described in Matthew 4 and Luke 4. It also recalls the 40 years the Israelites wandered before entering the promised land, and the 40 days of rain in the story of Noah.

Here's where the math gets confusing for a lot of people: if you count every calendar day from Ash Wednesday to Easter Sunday, you get 46 days, not 40. The difference is the six Sundays in between.

• Sundays are excluded from the fast because every Sunday is considered a celebration of the resurrection, even during Lent.
• That means the actual period of fasting and penance adds up to exactly 40 days.
• Holy Week, the final week of Lent, is counted within those 46 days and carries its own special observances.

So when someone asks how long Lent is, the honest answer depends on whether they mean the full liturgical season (46 days) or the traditional fasting period (40 days). Both answers are correct, just counting different things.

What marks the start of Lent: Ash Wednesday

Ash Wednesday opens the season with a distinctive ritual: churchgoers receive a mark of ashes on their forehead, usually shaped like a cross, while a minister or priest speaks words tied to human mortality and the call to repentance.

"Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return."

That phrase, spoken during the ashing ritual, sets the tone for the whole season. It's meant to strip away illusions of permanence and self-sufficiency, pointing instead toward humility, self-examination and a turn toward God. The ashes themselves are traditionally made by burning the palm branches saved from the previous year's Palm Sunday.

Ash Wednesday is also one of two days in the Catholic calendar, along with Good Friday, marked by both fasting and abstinence. Fasting means limiting the amount of food eaten, typically one full meal and two smaller ones that together don't equal a full meal. Abstinence means avoiding meat.

What marks the end of Lent: Holy Saturday and the Easter Vigil

Lent technically ends on the evening of Holy Saturday, right before the Easter Vigil Mass begins. That vigil service, held after sunset, is considered the transition point between the penitential season of Lent and the joyful season of Easter.

The final days before that transition make up Holy Week, which includes:

• Palm Sunday, marking Jesus' entry into Jerusalem.
• Holy Thursday (Maundy Thursday), commemorating the Last Supper.
• Good Friday, observing the crucifixion through solemn, often somber services.
• Holy Saturday, a quiet day of waiting that ends with the Easter Vigil.

Once the Easter Vigil begins, the mood shifts noticeably. Many churches move from darkness to candlelight during the service, and the fasting restrictions of Lent are lifted. Easter Sunday itself kicks off a 50-day season called Eastertide, which runs until Pentecost.

How Lent dates differ for Eastern Orthodox Christians

Eastern Orthodox churches observe Lent, often called Great Lent, on a different schedule than Western churches, for two reasons. First, many Orthodox churches follow the older Julian calendar rather than the Gregorian calendar for calculating religious dates. Second, their method for determining Easter, known in Orthodox tradition as Pascha, follows its own formula that doesn't always align with the Western calculation.

As a result, Orthodox Easter frequently falls on a different Sunday than Western Easter, sometimes by a week, sometimes by several weeks. Great Lent also starts differently:

• It begins on a day called Clean Monday, rather than Ash Wednesday.
• It lasts 40 days but counts Sundays within that total, unlike the Western calculation.
• It's followed by Holy Week, observed separately from the 40-day Lenten fast itself.

If you're coordinating plans with someone who observes Orthodox Christianity, it's worth checking their specific calendar rather than assuming the dates match Western Lent.

How to figure out this year's Lent dates yourself

You don't need a theology degree to work out when Lent falls in any given year. The process is straightforward once you know the starting point.

1. Find the date of Easter Sunday for the year in question. This is published by churches, religious calendars, and widely available online each year.
2. Count back 46 days from that date to land on Ash Wednesday.
3. Mark Holy Week as the seven days leading up to Easter, starting with Palm Sunday.
4. Remember Lent ends on the evening of the Saturday before Easter, right as the Easter Vigil begins.

Most parish bulletins, diocesan websites, and liturgical calendars publish these dates well in advance, often a year or more ahead, so checking with a local church is usually the fastest way to confirm exact dates without doing the math yourself.

Common mistakes people make about Lent's timing

A few misunderstandings come up again and again when people talk about Lent's dates and length. Clearing these up makes the whole season easier to plan around.

• Assuming Lent is always 40 calendar days. It's actually 46 days from Ash Wednesday to Easter, with Sundays excluded from the fasting count.
• Confusing Palm Sunday with the start of Lent. Palm Sunday opens Holy Week, which is near the end of Lent, not the beginning.
• Thinking Easter Sunday is part of Lent. It isn't. Lent ends the evening before, and Easter marks the start of a completely different, celebratory season.
• Mixing up Western and Orthodox dates. The two traditions frequently observe Lent and Easter on different calendars entirely.
• Forgetting that fasting rules relax on Sundays. Giving something up for Lent traditionally doesn't apply on Sundays, though many people choose to keep their commitment all seven days anyway for simplicity.

What people typically do during the weeks of Lent

Beyond the specific start and end dates, Lent is built around three recurring practices: prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. These show up across denominations in slightly different forms, but the underlying goal is consistent: turning attention away from comfort and routine, and toward reflection and generosity.

Many people choose to give up a specific food, habit, or distraction for the full 46-day stretch, such as sweets, alcohol, or social media. Others add a positive practice instead, like daily scripture reading, attending additional church services, or volunteering. Fridays during Lent are traditionally marked by abstaining from meat, a practice tied to the idea of small, repeated sacrifices building toward the larger observance of Good Friday.

Whatever the specific practice, the timing anchors it. Knowing exactly when Ash Wednesday falls and when Holy Saturday arrives gives the whole season a clear beginning, middle, and end, which is part of why so many people find the structure of Lent useful even outside of strict religious observance.

Frequently asked questions

Does Lent include Sundays?

Sundays fall within the Lenten calendar but are traditionally excluded from the fasting obligation, since every Sunday is treated as a small celebration of the resurrection. That's why Lent spans 46 calendar days but only 40 days of actual fasting.

Is Easter Sunday the last day of Lent?

No. Lent officially ends on the evening of Holy Saturday, right before the Easter Vigil service begins. Easter Sunday itself belongs to a separate, joyful liturgical season rather than to Lent.

Why does the date of Lent change every year?

Lent's start and end dates are both calculated backward and forward from Easter Sunday, which is a movable feast tied to the lunar calendar and the spring equinox rather than a fixed calendar date like Christmas.

Do all Christian denominations observe Lent on the same dates?

No. Western churches, including Catholic and many Protestant denominations, follow one calculation, while Eastern Orthodox churches often follow a different calendar and formula, so their Great Lent and Pascha frequently fall on different dates.