Ash Wednesday

From Freepedia

This article discusses the religious holiday. For other uses, see Ash Wednesday (disambiguation).

In the Western Christian calendar, Ash Wednesday is the first day of Lent. (Eastern Christianity starts Great Lent on Clean Monday, which, due to differences in the calculation of Easter and the length of Great Lent, is often later in the year.)

It occurs forty days before Easter not counting Sundays (which are not included in Lent); it occurs forty-four days before Good Friday counting Sundays. Its placement varies each year, according to the date of Easter. The date can vary from early February to as late as the second week in March.

Ash Wednesday will occur on the following dates in the following years:

Some Christians treat Ash Wednesday as a day for remembering one's mortality. Masses are traditionally held on this day at which attendees are blessed with ashes by the priest celebrating the Mass. The priest marks the forehead of each participant with black ashes, traditionally in the shape of a cross, leaving a mark that the worshipper traditionally leaves on his or her forehead until sundown, before washing it off. This symbolism recalls the ancient Near Eastern tradition of throwing ash over one's head signifying repentance before God (as related numerous times in the Bible). The minister says "Remember, man, that you are dust, and to dust you shall return." Often these Ash Wednesday ashes are made by burning Palm leaves from the previous year's Palm Sunday celebrations and mixing them with olive oil as a fixative. In Roman Catholicism Ash Wednesday is a day of fasting and abstinence, and the ashes are considered a sacramental. The penitential psalms are read. It is also a kneeling day in the Roman Catholic Church. It also marks the beginning of the Lenten fast which lasts until Holy Saturday. During this period, Catholics between the ages of 18 and 59 are permitted to consume only one full meal, which many be supplemented by two smaller meals, which together should not equal the full meal. This is practiced every day of Lent until noon on Holy Saturday. There is no fasting on Sunday. The fast is waived in some places, however, on the feast of Saint Patrick, March 17.

Ash Wednesday may occur as early as February 4 or as late as March 10.

As the first day of Lent, it comes the day after Shrove Tuesday or Mardi Gras, the last day of the Carnival season.

In certain parts of the United Kingdom, Ash Wednesday similarly involves the ritual consumption of the food hash.

In New Orleans, Louisiana, the day is sometimes jokingly referred to as "Trash Wednesday" because of the large amount of refuse typically left in the streets by the previous day's Fat Tuesday celebrations.