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Wednesday, February 14, 2018

Ash Wednesday 2018

Image ID 108333046 © Mgs99 | Dreamstime.com
Ash Wednesday for 2018 happens to coincide with Valentine Day Wednesday February 14  and Easter Sunday falls on April 1st (April Fool's Day).  According to "Computus" * an iPhone (and maybe an Android phone app) the occurrences of Ash Wednesday on Valentine Day (whose origin goes way back in history) within a 300 year span are the following: 1866, 1872, 1877, 1923, 1934, 1945, 2018, 2024, 2029, 2170.  Easter Sunday also occurred on April 1st except for the leap years of  1872 and 2024 in which Easter Sunday occurs on March 31st.    Thus 2018-1945 = 73 years (Humble Blogger was 3 years old) since the last occurrence of Ash Wednesday on February 14.  When the world hits 2029  the next occurrence of Ash Wednesday on February 14 and Easter on April 1st will be 2170!   2170-2029 = 141 years!!

*The "Computus" app is Copyright 2015 by Mark C. Christianson.  Contact him at  info@restenergy.net

Back to Ash Wednesday, the Christian liturgical event:
On Ash Wednesday, ashes are placed on the forehead of the church goer signifying "remember you are dust and to dust you shall return"  (Genesis 3:19)   Note: I purchased the copyrighted image above from Dreamstime.com  for use in  this Blog post.

**Lent (Latin: Quadragesima: Fortieth) is a solemn religious observance in the Christian liturgical calendar that begins on Ash Wednesday and ends approximately six weeks later, before Easter Sunday. The purpose of Lent is the preparation of the believer through prayer, doing penance, mortifying the flesh, repentance of sins, almsgiving, and self-denial.

This event is observed in the Anglican, Eastern Orthodox, Lutheran, Methodist, and Roman Catholic Churches.Some Anabaptist and evangelical churches also observe the Lenten season.Its institutional purpose is heightened in the annual commemoration of Holy Week, marking the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus, which recalls the tradition and events of the New Testament beginning on Palm Sunday, further climaxing on Jesus' crucifixion on Good Friday, which ultimately culminates in the joyful celebration on Easter Sunday of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ.

In Lent, many Christians commit to fasting, as well as "giving up" certain luxuries in order to "replicate the sacrifice of Jesus Christ's journey into the desert for 40 days."Many Christians also add a Lenten spiritual discipline, such as reading a daily devotional or praying through a Lenten calendar, to draw themselves near to God.

The Stations of the Cross, a devotional commemoration of Christ's carrying the Cross and of his execution, are often observed. Many Roman Catholic and some Protestant churches remove flowers from their altars, while crucifixes, religious statues, and other elaborate religious symbols are often veiled in violet fabrics in solemn observance of the event. Throughout Christendom, some adherents mark the season with the traditional abstention from the consumption of meat, most notably among Roman Catholics.

Lent is traditionally described as lasting for forty days, in commemoration of the forty days Jesus spent fasting in the desert, according to the Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke, before beginning his public ministry, during which he endured temptation by Satan.

Holy Week and the season of Lent, depending on denomination and local custom, end with Easter Vigil at sundown on Holy Saturday or on the morning of Easter Sunday.

**Parts of Lent's description shown here were taken from From Wikipedia