<P> The number 40 has many Biblical references: </P> <Ul> <Li> Moses spent 40 days on Mount Sinai with God (Exodus 24: 18) </Li> <Li> Elijah spent 40 days and nights walking to Mount Horeb (1 Kings 19: 8) </Li> <Li> God sent 40 days and nights of rain in the great flood of Noah (Genesis 7: 4) </Li> <Li> The Hebrew people wandered 40 years in the desert while traveling to the Promised Land (Numbers 14: 33) </Li> <Li> Jonah's prophecy of judgment gave 40 days to the city of Nineveh in which to repent or be destroyed (Jonah 3: 4). </Li> <Li> Jesus retreated into the wilderness, where He fasted for 40 days, and was tempted by the devil (Matthew 4: 1--2, Mark 1: 12--13, Luke 4: 1--2). He overcame all three of Satan's temptations by citing scripture to the devil, at which point the devil left him, angels ministered to Jesus, and He began His ministry . Jesus further said that His disciples should fast "when the bridegroom shall be taken from them" (Matthew 9: 15), a reference to his Passion . </Li> <Li> Since, presumably, the Apostles fasted as they mourned the death of Jesus, Christians have traditionally fasted during the annual commemoration of his burial . </Li> <Li> It is the traditional belief that Jesus laid for 40 hours in the tomb, which led to the 40 hours of total fasting that preceded the Easter celebration in the early Church (the biblical reference to' three days in the tomb' is understood by them as spanning three days, from Friday afternoon to early Sunday morning, rather than three 24 - hour periods of time). Some Christian denominations, such as The Way International and Logos Apostolic Church of God, as well as Anglican scholar E.W. Bullinger in The Companion Bible, believe Christ was in the grave for a total of 72 hours, reflecting the type of Jonah in the belly of the whale . </Li> </Ul> <Li> Moses spent 40 days on Mount Sinai with God (Exodus 24: 18) </Li> <Li> Elijah spent 40 days and nights walking to Mount Horeb (1 Kings 19: 8) </Li>

What food was traditionally eaten the day before lent begins