The gospels tell us that Jesus spent forty days fasting in the wilderness before he began his public ministry, and there are a number of examples in the Old Testament where the number forty has a special significance, e.g. the Israelites wandered in the desert for forty years. So the idea of preparing for Easter over a period of forty days seemed an obvious thing to do. This time came to be called ‘Lent.’ The word comes from an old English word meaning ‘Spring.’