Lent 2006: 40 Days(?)

So there's been some confusion over which 40 days are we counting here in Lent.

Lent is the forty day period before Easter, excluding Sundays, which begins on Ash Wednesday and ends on Holy Saturday (the day before Easter Sunday). [This traditional ennumeration does not precisely coincide with the calendar according to the liturgical reform. In order to give special prominence to the Sacred Triduum (Mass of the Lord's Supper, Good Friday, Easter Vigil) the current calendar counts Lent as only from Ash Wednesday to Holy Thursday, up to the Mass of the Lord's Supper. Even so, Lenten practices are properly maintained up to the Easter Vigil, excluding Sundays, as before.] http://ewtn.com/faith/lent/ash_F17.htm

So we start counting at Ash Wednesday, exclude Sundays, and count until Holy Saturday (the day before Easter) but the calendar says count only till Holy Thursday.

Math time!
Ash Wednesday Week: 4 Days
1st week of Lent: 6 Days
2nd week of Lent: 6 Days
3rd week of Lent: 6 Days
4th week of Lent: 6 Days
5th week of Lent: 6 Days
Holy Week: 6 Days (or only 3, if you don't count Holy Thursday onward)

Without Sundays, counting till Holy Saturday: 40 Days
Without Sundays, counting until Holy Thursday: 37 Days
Total Days in the Season Lent, counting Sundays: 46

So it does work out, 40 days in Lent till Easter.

Could've been one of those "spirit of the law vs letter of the law" issues :).