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Lent is a distinct fasting season in the liturgical year, comprised (nominally) of 40 days, prior to the feast of Easter/Pascha. Despite its widespread observance, the origins of Lent are unclear. The earliest unambiguous references to a 40-day fast before Easter date from the second quarter of the 4th century CE and these sources mention it as an already-established and accepted practice without providing an account of its origins and without indicating how recently it began to be observ…