This preparation is done for 40 days, starting on Ash Wednesday and ending on Palm Sunday, when the Holy Week starts. It is a time for thinking, penitence and spiritual conversation; time and preparation for the mystery of Easter.

The Catholic Church reserved some dates in its calendar for collective festivals; so that men – temporarily free from their daily work and obligations – could praise the saints, publically express their faith and have some rest and some fun, after they have honoured their religious duties.