So — are you ready to give up caffeine, or wine, or ice-cream for 40 days? How about FaceTime? Giving these things up are hard, but Christians long ago used to give up a whole lot more. Today is Ash Wednesday — it marks the first day of Lent, at least in Western churches. The ashes symbolize penance and the dust from which God made people. When the priest marks your forehead with the ashes, they often say, “Repent and believe in the Gospel,” or “Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return.”
Ash Wednesday is probably most closely associated with Catholicism, but there are many Christian sects that recognize it — including Lutherans, Methodists, Episcopalians, Presbyterians, and some Baptists. Some Christians, such as Mormons, Evangelicals, and Pentecostal Christians don’t take part in the holy day.
It is believed that the first Ash Wednesday ceremonies were likely held sometime in the 11th century. Although it’s never mentioned in the Bible, there is a verse in the Book of Daniel that links fasting to ashes. Some scholars believe this is the origin of the Lenten practice. Ash Wednesday didn’t gain mainstream popularity with Christians in the U.S. until the 1970s. The ashes used on Ash Wednesday are eco-friendly — they are made from the palms passed out on Palm Sunday the previous year.
As we talked about yesterday, the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday is normally reserved fro indulgence and revelry. The first day of lent in Iceland, called Öskudagur, is similar to our Halloween. Kids dress up in costumes and tour their neighborhoods singing songs in exchange for candy.
A trend that supposedly started a few years ago is picking up steam this year because of the corona virus — many parishes have started offering “ashes to go” on Ash Wednesday. Some priests and pastors even position themselves in public places — like street corners, parking lots or metro stations, and will administer ashes to whoever asks to receive them.
But today is the start of Lent, and obviously it’s about much more than ashes — we should use it as a reminder to be humble in the face of mortality……
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