Lent calendar and “what day of Lent is it?”
This Lent calendar tells you which day of Lent it is today and how many days are left until Easter, and prints a one-page calendar of the whole season — Ash Wednesday to Easter Sunday — with the forty days numbered, the Sundays marked, each day’s name and the liturgical colour, and a tick box for every day of prayer, fasting or almsgiving.
Switch to Orthodox Great Lent for the season from Clean Monday to Pascha, with the Sundays of Lent, Lazarus Saturday and Holy Week, calculated with the Julian Easter rule. Everything is calculated and drawn in your browser.
How to use the Lent Calendar & Day Counter
- Look at the top: today’s day of Lent and the days until Easter.
- Choose the Year and the Tradition.
- Tick Count Sundays if you want all 46 days numbered instead of the traditional 40.
- Choose colours, tick boxes, paper size and orientation.
- Press Print calendar, or download the PDF or PNG.
Lent Calendar & Day Counter features
Day counter
Today’s day of Lent (Sundays not counted unless you choose) and the days left until Easter.
Printable 40-day calendar
All of Lent on one page, with day numbers and a tick box for each day.
Day names and colours
Ash Wednesday, the Sundays of Lent, St Joseph, the Annunciation, Palm Sunday and the Triduum with Roman Rite colours.
Orthodox Great Lent
Clean Monday to Pascha, the Sundays of Lent, Lazarus Saturday and Holy Week, by the Julian computus.
Any year 1900–2099
Next year’s Lent is shown automatically once Easter has passed.
How the forty days are counted
Western Lent begins on Ash Wednesday, 46 days before Easter Sunday. Sundays are always feasts of the Resurrection and are traditionally not counted, which leaves forty days of fasting from Ash Wednesday to Holy Saturday — the “40 days excluding Sundays”. Liturgically, the season of Lent ends before the evening Mass of the Lord’s Supper on Holy Thursday, when the Easter Triduum begins; popular counting runs to Holy Saturday. The day names and colours come from the General Roman Calendar: violet through the season, rose on Laetare Sunday, white for St Joseph and the Annunciation, red for Palm Sunday and Good Friday.
Orthodox Great Lent begins on Clean Monday, 48 days before Pascha, and its forty days end on the Friday before Lazarus Saturday; Lazarus Saturday, Palm Sunday and Holy Week follow. Because Orthodox churches date Pascha with the Julian calendar, Great Lent usually starts later than Western Lent — in 2026 on 23 February against Ash Wednesday on 18 February, and in 2027 on 15 March against 10 February. See the Easter date calculator for both Easter dates in any year.
| Year | Ash Wednesday | Easter | Clean Monday | Pascha |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 18 Feb | 5 Apr | 23 Feb | 12 Apr |
| 2027 | 10 Feb | 28 Mar | 15 Mar | 2 May |
| 2028 | 1 Mar | 16 Apr | 28 Feb | 16 Apr |
| 2029 | 14 Feb | 1 Apr | 19 Feb | 8 Apr |
Using the printable calendar
Hang the calendar where the family will see it and tick a box each day, or write a short Lenten goal in each square — a prayer, a reading, an act of kindness. For a daily reading plan through Lent use the Bible reading plan generator, and for a simple countdown to Easter Sunday the countdown timer.
Lent Calendar & Day Counter FAQ
What day of Lent is it today?
The Lent calendar shows it at the top, counting from Ash Wednesday and skipping Sundays, with the days left until Easter.
How many days of Lent are left?
The line under the day number gives the days until Easter Sunday; tick Count Sundays to number all 46 days.
When does Lent 2027 start?
Ash Wednesday is on 10 February 2027 and Easter on 28 March 2027. Orthodox Great Lent begins on Clean Monday, 15 March 2027, before Pascha on 2 May.
Why are Sundays not counted in Lent?
Every Sunday celebrates the Resurrection, so it is not a fast day; the forty days are the weekdays and Saturdays from Ash Wednesday to Holy Saturday.
Is Orthodox Lent always later?
Usually by one to five weeks, and in some years — such as 2028 — both Easters fall on the same day.
Can I print a Lent calendar for children?
Yes — keep the tick boxes, choose a bright accent colour and print on A4 or Letter.