If asked when does Lent begin, many people will be prompt to answer that this 40 day period begins on Ash Wednesday (and some would even add that it ends with Easter Sunday). This invariably means that you need to know Easter Sunday date to find out the date on which the Lent season begins in a particular year. (Ash Wednesday is considered to be the first day of Lent, and therefore its date is determined on the basis of Easter date.) Basically, Lent, Ash Wednesday, Mardi Gras and Good Friday dates are calculated on the basis of Easter date which is, in turn, calculated in accordance to the lunisolar calendar. The Season of Lent As per the western Christian tradition, Lent is a period of 40 weekdays between the Ash Wednesday and the Holy Saturday, wherein believers resort to prayer, penitence, alms giving and self-denial. Only weekdays are taken into consideration when counting the 40 day period, as Sundays represents mini-Easter - each of which marks the celebration of Jesus' victory over sin and death. The main purpose of this 40 day observance is to reflect on the life of Jesus - his life, death and resurrection. According to the Holy Bible, these 40 days represent the time which Jesus spent in the desert before the beginning of his public ministry. Within the season of Lent, there exist several holy days - including the Ash Wednesday (i.e. the first day of Lent), the Palm Sunday (marks the beginning of the Holy Week), Maundy Thursday (a day Christians commemorate the Last Supper) and Good Friday (commemorating the crucifixion of Jesus Christ). When Does Lent Start in 2012? Lent begins with Ash Wednesday - which falls 46 days before Easter Sunday. Now Easter Sunday being a movable feast, based on the lunisolar calendar, falls on a different day every year and therefore even the date of Ash Wednesday changes every year. Ash Wednesday is the first day of the Lent Season, and the fact that it falls on different day every year invariably means that the Lent season begins on a different day every year. In order to determine the date on which the Lent season begins, you have to find out when Easter Sunday is observed. According to the lunisolar calendar, which determines the date for Easter celebrations, Easter Sunday falls on 8th April in 2012. If we go by the belief that Lent begins with Ash Wednesday - which falls 40 weekdays or 46 days before Easter Sunday, it will begin on 22nd February, 2012. So the season of Lent will begin on 22nd February (Ash Wednesday) and end on 7th April (Holy Saturday) in 2012. Similarly, Mardi Gras - which is celebrated a day before the Lent season begins, will fall on 21st February in 2012, Maundy Thursday on 5th April and Good Friday on 6th April, 2012. The Lent dates for coming years can also be determined by following the same method. In 2013, Lent will begin on 13th February as Easter Sunday falls on 31st of March. Similarly, the 40 weekdays period will begin on 5th March in 2014, 18th February in 2015, 10th February in 2016 and 1st March in 2017. If you know the date on which Easter Sunday falls according to the lunisolar calendar, you can easily calculate the date for Ash Wednesday - which happens to be the beginning of Lent.