The Lenten season extends over a 46-day period beginning Ash Wednesday and ending on the eve of Easter. The six Sundays in Lent are not actually a part of Lent, and therefore the Lenten season itself is 40 days. Sunday, being weekly commemorations of the first Easter, have always been excluded from this fast[ing] season.
Lent developed from two sources. The first was a period of fasting which preceded Easter in the early church. At first, this period of fasting was held only on Saturday, the day before Easter, lasting until 3 AM Easter morning when the Eucharist was celebrated… Later this fast was extended to six days and eventually became separated into the events of Holy Week. Holy Week, then, is an older season than the entire Lenten season.
The second source for this season of Lent was the Baptism of candidates into the faith on the eve of Easter. Since the early church was an “underground movement”, candidates were carefully screened, and there was a long period of preparation. The strictest part of this probationary period came… just before the time of Baptism. A fasting period of 40 days was required, the length of which was suggested by [Jesus’] fasting in the wilderness, Moses’ fasting at Mt. Sinai, and Elijah’s fasting on the way to the Mount of God — each 40 days. Eventually, this period of preparation for Baptism evolved into a general period of preparation for Easter to be observed by all Christians.
The word “Lent” probably comes from the Anglo-Saxon “lencten”, meaning spring, and the German “Lenz”, meaning the time when the days lengthen.
[The final week of Lent is called Holy Week]. Thursday in Holy Week [aka “Maundy Thursday”] is the anniversary of the institution of the Lord’s Supper which was held the evening before the crucifixion. Maundy Thursday is derived from the Latin “mandatum”, meaning command, referring to the foot-washing ceremony at the Last Supper when Jesus spoke of the “new commandment” to love one another [extravagantly]… Friday in Holy Week… is the anniversary of the crucifixion. The term “Good Friday” probably came from “God’s Friday” just as “good-by” comes from “God be with ye”.
(taken from Seasons & Symbols: a Handbook on the Church Year)
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