Ash Wednesday, also known as the Day of Ashes, is on March 5 this year. You may see people with ashes in the shape of a cross smudged on their forehead or abstaining from eating meat.
Ash Wednesday is a traditional day of repentance for Christians. While most often observed by Catholics, many Lutherans, United Methodists, Presbyterians, Episcopalians and Anglicans also observe Ash Wednesday.
For the religious, it’s a time when Christians confess their sins and profess their devotion to God. It’s a day of repentance.
Is Ash Wednesday the start of Lent?
Ash Wednesday marks the first day of Lent, a period of reflection, fasting and prayer leading up to Easter that many of the Christian faith observe, according to Christianity.com. Many people of the faith may choose to give something up during this time, such as food such as chocolate, or something less tangible like a habit. It’s a season that allows people of faith to let go of distractions and draw closer to God as they prepare their hearts for Easter, the celebration of Jesus Christ’s resurrection, according to Bible Study Tools.
The ashes pressed onto people’s foreheads during mass symbolize “fragility and mortality, and the need to be redeemed by the mercy of God,” according to the Catholic News Agency. With the focus on mortality and sinfulness, people of faith can “enter into the Lent season solemnly while also looking forward in greater anticipation and joy to the message of Easter and Christ’s ultimate victory over sin and death,” according to Christianity.com.
The ashes are typically supposed to be made from the previous year’s Palm Sunday palm branches, which are burned, according to the Catholic News Agency.
Is there no meat on Ash Wednesday?
Catholics aren’t supposed to eat meat on Ash Wednesday, and those aged 18 to 59 are asked by the church to fast and can only eat one full meal and two smaller meals, although those two smaller meals should not equal a full meal, according to the Catholic News Agency. However, fasting is exempted for children or the elderly.
How long is Lent?
Lent begins on Ash Wednesday and ends on either Holy Thursday or Holy Saturday, “depending on the denomination or tradition you follow,” according to Christianity.com. This year, that’s either April 17 or April 19. These dates are during Holy Week, the period leading up to Easter beginning with Palm Sunday on April 13, according to Catholic Answers. Holy Thursday is the commemoration of Jesus Christ’s Last Supper with his apostles, followed by Good Friday, on which the crucifixion and death of Jesus Christ is observed, according to the Arizona Republic.
When is Fat Tuesday?
Fat Tuesday, which translates to Mardi Gras in French, is on Tuesday, March 4, which is the day before Ash Wednesday. Mardi Gras refers to the tradition of using up all the fats in one’s home before Lent in preparation for fasting and abstinence, according to Britannica. This day is also called Shrove Tuesday.
