Answer:
Lent is a time when Jesus was in the desert for 40 days. Catholics observe this. It starts on Ash Wednesday and ends on Easter Sunday. People can give something up like candy or do something they would not normally do like pray the Rosary. On Fridays during Lent, people 14 and older make a sacrifice and do not eat meat, on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday people between 18 and 59 fast. They use the money they save not eating meat to give to the poor. For more details you can call a Catholic Priest.
Lent is defined as "the 40 weekdays from Ash Wednesday until Easter observed by Christians as a season of fasting and penitence in preparation for Easter." (Answers.com)
It is believed that Jesus spent 40 days fasting in the desert before beginning his public ministry, during which time he encountered temptation by Satan.
Christians during this period give up certain "sins" in their lives, symbolizing triumph over temptation similar to Jesus's triumphs over Satan's temptations.