<P> The 40 days of Great Lent includes Sundays, and begins on Clean Monday and are immediately followed by what are considered distinct periods of fasting, Lazarus Saturday and Palm Sunday, which in turn are followed straightway by Holy Week . Great Lent is broken only after the Paschal (Easter) Divine Liturgy . </P> <P> The Eastern Orthodox Church maintains the traditional Church's teaching on fasting . The rules for lenten fasting are the monastic rules . Fasting in the Orthodox Church is more than simply abstaining from certain foods . During the Great Lent Orthodox Faithful intensify their prayers and spiritual exercises, go to church services more often, study the Scriptures and the works of the Church Fathers in depth, limit their entertainment and spendings and focus on charity and good works . </P> <P> Among the Oriental Orthodox, there are various local traditions regarding Lent . Those using the Alexandrian Rite, i.e., the Coptic Orthodox, Coptic Catholic, Ethiopian Orthodox, Ethiopian Catholic, Eritrean Orthodox, and Eritrean Catholic Churches, observe eight weeks of Lent . </P> <P> In Ethiopian Orthodoxy, fasting (tsome) lasts for 55 continuous days before Easter (Fasika), although the fast is divided into three separate periods: Tsome Hirkal, eight days commemorating an early Christian figure; Tsome Arba, 40 days of Lent; and Tsome Himamat, seven days commemorating Holy Week . Fasting involves abstention from animal products (meat, dairy, and eggs), and refraining from eating or drinking before 3: 00 pm . Ethiopian devotees may also abstain from sexual activity and the consumption of alcohol . </P>

When do you break the fast for lent