For 40 days every spring, Christians observe the season of repentance and fasting known as Lent. In New Orleans, the change from Mardi Gras to Lent is striking.

In New Orleans, the contrast from Mardi Gras and Fat Tuesday to Ash Wednesday and weeks of reflection is particularly stark, as member station WWNO's Rosemary Westwood reports. (SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC ...