Ash Wednesday

Carrie Huang

On the Western Christian Calendar, Ash Wednesday is the first day of Lent. It occurs forty six days before Easter, but Lent is considered only forty days long, because Sundays are not counted as days of penance. It begins on different dates from year to year, according to the date of Easter; it can occur as early as February 4 or as late as March 10.

At Masses and Services of worship this day, worshippers are blessed with ashes by the celebrating priest or minister. The priest or minister marks the forehead of each participant with black ashes, in the shape of a cross, which the worshipper traditionally retains until washing it off after sundown. The symbolism echoes the ancient Near Easter tradition of throwing ash over one’s head signifying repentance before God. The minister of ashes may be a layperson or non-clergy person. The priest or minister offers the worshipper an instruction while applying the ashes. Here are the formulas:

“Remember, man, that you are dust

And unto dust you shall return.”

This wording comes from Genesis 3:19

Or

“Turn away from sin and be faithful to the Gospel.”

The ashes are prepared by burning palm leaves from the previous year’s Palm Sunday celebrations and mixing them with olive oil as a fixative. The ashes are sacramental, not a sacrament. In the Roman Catholic Church, Ash Wednesday is observed by fasting, abstinence (from meat), and repentance – a day of contemplating one’s transgressions.

Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of the Lenten season, which lasts until the Easter Virgil. Ash Wednesday and Good Friday are observed by Catholics between the ages of 18 and 59 by consuming only one full meal each day, which may be supplemented by two smaller meals, which together should not equal the full meal. These days are also days of abstinence from meat, as are all Fridays in Lent in most dioceses. Traditionally, the fast lasts from Ash Wednesday until after the celebration of the Easter Vigil on Holy Saturday.

The first day of Lent occurs the day after Shrove Tuesday or Mardi Gras, the last day of the Carnival season. The word “Carnival” is derived from the Latin word carne vale, “farewell meat”.

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