Mardi Gras beads, burnt palm leaves and black smudges on foreheads all mark the beginning of Lent, a Christian season observed from Ash Wednesday until Easter.”Lent is a time to examine yourself, and examine the sins and weaknesses in your life and remember your need for forgiveness,” said Mark Heilman, pastor at Memorial Lutheran Church, 2228 W. Lincoln Way. “It symbolizes a period of testing before the big celebration of Easter.” Matthew Cobb, assistant rector at St. John’s By the Campus Episcopal Church, 2338 Lincoln Way, said Lent is like the period of winter before spring. Enduring winter makes spring all the more beautiful, just as remembering sin during Lent makes God’s forgiveness and Easter all the more precious, he said. Trying to become a better follower of Jesus is another aspect of Lent, said Crystal Sullivan, campus minister at St. Thomas Aquinas, 2210 Lincoln Way. Lent is observed for about 40 days, Heilman said. The 40 days are symbolic of the 40 days Jesus was tempted in the desert before triumphing over evil, and the 40 years the Israelites wandered around in the desert before God brought them to the Promised Land, he said. “The season of Lent started out as a season of preparation for people who were going to be baptized on Easter. It gradually developed into a time of introspection for all Christians,” Sullivan said. Before Lent begins on “Ash Wednesday,” some celebrate another holiday known as “Fat Tuesday.””The theory is to get all your sinning done on Fat Tuesday, which is why they party so hard down at Mardi Gras,” Cobb said. “At midnight everyone rushes to church and confesses their sins, since they have plenty to confess.” Most traditional Christian churches plan activities to observe Lent, Heilman said. The Memorial Lutheran Church has services Wednesday nights during Lent.”Ash Wednesday” was also recognized during services at St. Thomas Aquinas Church by using ashes from burnt palm leaves to mark a cross on people’s foreheads. “The ashes are a reminder to ourselves that we need to look at our lives and know we are in need of making ourselves better in the eyes of God,” Sullivan said. Many Catholics use the season of Lent as a time for New Year’s resolutions, she said. They try to make themselves better people for God — by giving up drinking or attending mass more. Catholics also don’t eat meat on Fridays during Lent, Sullivan said. Certain days are set aside for fasting, and the church encourages people take the money they would have spent on their own food, and donate it so poorer people can buy food. Members of St. John’s Episcopal Church also observe Lent in a similar way. They practice the disciplines of self denial, fasting and prayer. “These three disciplines teach us how to repent of our sins and turn to God and ask for forgiveness,” Cobb said. The church also designates days for fasting. Although historically fasting meant not eating at all, Cobb said today it can be eating less, giving up things you want, or simplifying your life.The church is starting a new Lenten tradition this year to help encourage prayer. Parishioners are setting up a 36-foot labyrinth in the church, so people can go on prayer walks through the maze, he said.The Collegiate Presbyterian church, 159 N. Sheldon Ave., is also opening its doors to the public over the noon hour on Wednesdays during Lent. From 12:10 p.m. to 12:40 p.m. organists will play, and people are free to come and go as they please, said John Kelly, director of music. “It’s a time to back off from school and the world and reflect on your life,” he said.