Lent is a 40 day season of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving that begins on Ash Wednesday and ends at sundown on Holy Thursday. It’s a period of preparation to celebrate the Lord’s Resurrection at Easter. This year, Lent begins Ash Wednesday, February 17, and ends on Thursday evening, April 1, followed by the Sacred Triduum through April 3, and Easter Sunday, April 4.
Lent is also the usual Period of Purification and Enlightenment (beginning on the First Sunday, February 21) for adults who will be baptized on Easter.
The days of both Fast and Abstinence during Lent are Ash Wednesday and Good Friday.
The other Fridays of Lent are days of Abstinence. On a day of Fast, only one (1) full meal is permitted. Those between the ages of 18 and 59, if possible in regards to health, are obliged to fast. On a Day of Abstinence, no meat may be eaten. Those who have reached the age of 14 are obliged by the norms concerning abstinence.
The Fridays of the year, outside of Lent, are designated as days of penance, but each individual may substitute for the traditional abstinence from meat some other practice of voluntary self-denial as penance.
The time for fulfilling the Paschal Precept (Easter Duty) extends from the First Sunday of Lent, February 21 to the Solemnity of the Holy Trinity, Sunday, May 30, 2021.
More info from the USCCB: https://www.usccb.org/prayer-and-worship/liturgical-year-and-calendar/lent
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