Wednesday Feb. 17- Ash Wednesday (continues till Easter)*

Monday, Feb. 22- Washington’s Birthday

Tuesday, Feb. 23- Iwo Jima Day

Wednesday, Feb. 24- National Tortilla Day

Thursday, Feb. 25- Pistol Patent Day

Friday, Feb. 26- Carnival Day

Saturday, Feb. 27- Polar Bear Day

Sunday, Feb. 28- Floral Design Day

Lent is taking place this week, as the 40-day Christian tradition began on Ash Wednesday, which was Feb. 17. The purpose of Lent is to prepare for the celebration of Easter and the death and resurrection of Jesus.

Prayer and Penitence are some of the practices associated with Lent, as many Christians try to get closer to God and sacrifice some of their desires.

Junior Sean Alexander is a Catholic who is practicing Lent this year, although he does have some trouble remembering. “Some years it will totally skip my mind, and I don’t know if it would be considered a sin but I feel pretty bad,” Alexander said.

Alexander said he is trying to avoid eating meat and stick with fish for the rest of lent.

Senior Sam Stulce is also Catholic, but he does not practice Lent. “I do not believe that Lent is all that important. It doesn’t have a point,” Stulce said.

While Lent is usually associated with Catholicism, it is also recognized by a few Protestant denominations. Junior Sean McIntyre, a Methodist, is also practicing Lent, but in a much different way then Catholics,

“What we really believe in is that if you are going to give something up, give up something important. I mean if you are going to give something up like soda, is that really going to benefit you are accomplish anything,” McIntyre said.

“It is not necessarily about giving stuff up as opposed to taking the 40 days to concentrate on what the real point is,” he added.