i agree with most of the people here, but i do have something to add. the 40 represents, according to Catholicism, the time that Jesus spend in the desert where he was tempted by the devil to reveal himself as the son of god. That temptation is the reason for denying the body of certain luxuries that it usually enjoys (also in medieval times i believe that in the giving up of this vice they would give it up to the church along with their tithe, but i don’t remember exactly). Also included in the nature of most christian holidays and ceremonies they have roots in the “pagan” religions. This slight similarity aided in the conversion to Christianity for the missionaries because the people they were trying to convert could more readily justify the conversion seeing as how their holy days and rituals were somehow reflected in some of the aspects of Christianity. So on to the second meaning that i know of for the 40 days is to represent the 40 years that Moses is supposed to have led the Jewish people through the deserts as they escaped from Egypt. dont’ call me atheistic or anything, don’t forget Moses was in the first half of the bible still even in Christianity, and Jesus himself was a Jew because there were no Christians until his followers carried on his teachings after his sacrificial death. I think that’s the fullest extent that i can answer this question without going back through my research. so i’ll leave it at that, hope that helped