It ends tomorrow, when all Catholics go to church and have an "X" put on their foreheads with the ashes of last Palm Sunday's blessed palms. Then Lent starts and all good Catholics follow the fasting rules and the diet is as follows:

    No more than one meal per day is permitted.
    Flesh meat, eggs, butter, cheese, and milk are forbidden.
    The meal was not allowed until after sunset.
    Alcohol is forbidden.
    During Holy Week, the meal consists exclusively of bread, salt,    herbs, and water.

Of course, Laetare Sunday allows you to have cheese and a small glass of bad beer or wine to break the monotony of Lent. Vatican II lightened this up and you're now allowed one small glass of skim milk per day if you're over 87.