“It’s a time to get closer to God, time to fast, time to pray, a time to just kind of humble yourself,” Nicolas Smok Blanchard, a senior at Berkeley High School and president of the Christ Club, said when explaining what Lent means to him. Blanchard gave up Instagram Reels this season for Lent, which is a 40 day season of prayer and fasting that begins on Ash Wednesday and ends on Holy Thursday. While Lent is primarily observed in Catholicism, it is observed in many other Christian sects as well. During Lent, participants practice self-discipline through fasting and additionally abstain from one specific luxury, such as giving up sweets or shopping. Many are encouraged to give “alms” — time, talents, or money to people that need it — to follow Christ faithfully in a time where he sacrificed.
“I just started doing Lent because I’ve been doing a lot of research into Catholicism, and they practice Lent the most. So I thought it was cool to uphold tradition and it’s kind of cool to see Christians all around the world doing Lent, and I’m part of that too,” Blanchard said. The Christ Club meets weekly at lunch on Wednesdays, in C-310, where they host guest speakers, discussions, dive into sections of the Bible, and host a space for prayer and connection.
This year is the first time Cheyenne Paxton, a BHS senior and secretary of the Christ Club, has practiced Lent. She gave up “fantasizing about things that will just lead me into a part where I feel empty and void … so we’re doing Lent to see how it’s gonna affect my life,” Paxton said, “I’m also giving up academic performance, like placing my worth inside of my academics. My grades do not determine how valuable I am.” In most Lent-observing religions, the last week of Lent is known as the Holy Week, which begins with Palm Sunday. Last year, the Christ Club hosted a meeting, going over what Holy Week, the Last Supper, Jesus’ final moments, and resurrection were.
Adonai Nikodimos, a BHS junior, gave up sugar this year for Lent and has been practicing the holiday for as long as he can remember, but said it got more serious for him in high school. “I think (Lent) is eye opening for me, a lot of things that get revealed to me, and I understand (things I struggle with) more overall,” Nikodimos said.
The Biblical foundations of Lent originate with Jesus’ 40 day fasting period in the desert, where he was led into the wilderness and tempted by Satan to show believers how to resist the devil, to confirm his obedience to God, identity as the son of God, and demonstrate victory over sin. After this 40 day period, Jesus was established as a sinless High Priest. “The whole point of Lent is that Jesus fasted for 40 days and 40 nights, so it just means to implement something that you know that can change you. So for right now, even though I’m doing this for 40 days, I’m hoping to see (change) in my day-to-day life after the 40 days. So that’s what it means to me,” Paxton said. “I’m working on something that I will see later in my life,” she said.
Paxton also found changes in herself, noticing differences in her attitudes and behaviors as a result of giving up placing her worth in academics, even halfway through Lent this year. “I’m not placing my worth inside of my academics, I see myself finding my worth in God, and my value in God … my academics don’t determine who I am as a person. So I am seeing that fruitfully,” Paxton said.
Lent will end on Thursday, Apr. 2, 2026, with Easter the following Sunday, Apr. 5. 2026. Lent can encourage people to give up bad habits, focus on helping others, or improve upon themselves, and can inspire individuals to carry on with these values and habits even when Lent is over.