February 14, 2024 is Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent for much of Western Christianity. Lent is the roughly 40-day period of Christian observance leading up to Easter, when Christians all over the world engage in fasting, reflection, introspection, and penitential practices in remembrance of Christ and in renewal of relationship with Him. Lent also follows the pattern of Jesus’s 40 days of fasting in the wilderness to draw near to God before beginning his public ministry.
The celebration of Ash Wednesday began in the medieval period, but traditions of fasting and repentance in preparation for Holy Week and Easter go back to the early centuries of Christian history.
Learn more about our ancient Christian ancestors in Ancient Christians: An Introduction for Latter-day Saints. https://mi.byu.edu/book/ancient-christians/ (Chapter written by Mark Ellison).
The Temptation in the Wilderness, 1898 by Briton Rivière.