Ash Wednesday Trivia

Just for fun question: Which of the following is true of Ash Wednesday?

a) It is a National Non-Smoking Day in Ireland

b) Has never occurred on February 29
c) Ashes come from burning the prior year’s palm crosses
d) It occurs 46 days before Easter.
e) All of the above

Ash Wednesday is the first day of Lent and occurs forty-six days (forty days not counting Sundays) before
Easter. It is a moveable feast, falling on a different date each year because it is dependent on the date of Easter.
It can occur as early as 4 February or as late as 10 March.

Ash Wednesday gets its name from the practice of placing ashes on the foreheads of the faithful as a sign of
repentance. The ashes used are gathered after the Palm Crosses from the previous year's Palm Sunday are
burned. In the liturgical practice of some churches, the ashes are mixed with the Oil of the Catechumens (one of
the sacred oils used to anoint those about to be baptized), though some churches use ordinary oil. This paste is
used by the minister who presides at the service to make the sign of the cross, first upon his or her own forehead
and then on those of congregants. The minister recites the words: "Remember (O man) that you are dust, and to
dust you shall return", or "Repent, and believe the Gospel."

Ritual
At Masses and services of worship on this day, ashes are imposed on the foreheads of the faithful (or on the
tonsure spots, in the case of some clergy). The priest, minister, or in some cases officiating layperson, marks the
forehead of each participant with black ashes in the shape of a cross, which the worshipper traditionally retains
until it wears off. The act echoes the ancient Near Eastern tradition of throwing ashes over one's head to signify
repentance before God (as related in the Bible). The priest or minister says one of the following when applying the
ashes:

Remember, O man, that you are dust, and unto dust you shall return.—Genesis 3:19
Turn away from sin and be faithful to the Gospel.—Mark 1:15
Repent, and hear the good news.—Mark 1:15

The ashes used in the service of worship or Mass are sacramentals, not a sacrament. The ashes are blessed
according to various rites proper to each liturgical tradition, sometimes involving the use of Holy Water. In some
churches they are mixed with light amounts of water or olive oil, which serve as a fixative.

In most liturgies for Ash Wednesday, the Penitential psalms are read; Psalm 51 (LXX Psalm 50) is especially
associated with this day. The service also often includes a corporate confession rite.

In some of the free church liturgical traditions, other practices are sometimes added or substituted, as other ways
of symbolizing the confession and penitence of the day. For example, in one common variation, small cards are
distributed to the congregation on which people are invited to write a sin they wish to confess. These small cards
are brought forth to the altar table where they are burned.

In the Roman Catholic Church, ashes, being sacramentals, may be given to anyone who wishes to receive them,
as opposed to Catholic sacraments, which are generally reserved for church members, except in cases of grave
necessity. Similarly, in most other Christian denominations ashes may be received by all who profess the
Christian faith and are baptized.
In the Roman Catholic Church, Ash Wednesday is observed by fasting, abstinence from meat, and repentance—
a day of contemplating one's transgressions. The Anglican Book of Common Prayer also designates Ash
Wednesday as a day of fasting. In the medieval period, Ash Wednesday was the required annual day of
penitential confession occurring after fasting and the remittance of the tithe so difficult to pay. In other Christian
denominations these practices are optional, with the main focus being on repentance. On Ash Wednesday and
Good Friday, Roman Catholics between the ages of 18 and 59 are permitted to consume only one full meal,
which may be supplemented by two smaller meals, which together should not equal the full meal. Some Roman
Catholics will go beyond the minimum obligations demanded by the Church and undertake a complete fast or a
bread and water fast. Ash Wednesday and Good Friday are also days of abstinence from meat (for those
Catholics age 14 and over), as are all Fridays in Lent. Some Roman Catholics continue fasting during the whole
of Lent, as was the Church's traditional requirement, concluding only after the celebration of the Easter Vigil.

As the first day of Lent, Ash Wednesday comes the day after Shrove Tuesday or Mardi Gras (Fat Tuesday), the
last day of the Carnival season.

Ash Wednesday in Australia is a solemn day as one of Australia's deadliest bushfires coincidentally started
burning on Ash Wednesday.

Biblical significance
Ash Wednesday is a day of repentance and it marks the beginning of Lent. Ashes were used in ancient times,
according to the Bible, to express mourning. Dusting oneself with ashes was the penitent's way of expressing
sorrow for sins and faults. An ancient example of one expressing one's penitence is found in Job 42:3-6. Job says
to God: "I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear: but now mine eye seeth thee. The other eye wandereth of
its own accord. Wherefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes." (vv. 5-6, KJV) Other examples are
found in several other books of the Bible including, Numbers 19:9, 19:17, Jonah 3:6, Matthew 11:21, and Luke
10:13, and Hebrews 9:13. Ezekiel 9 also speaks of a linen-clad messenger marking the forehead of the city
inhabitants that have sorrow over the sins of the people. All those without the mark are destroyed.

It marks the start of a forty day period analogous to the separation of Jesus in the desert to fast and pray. During
[13]
this time he was tempted. Matthew 4:1-11, Mark 1:12-13, and Luke 4:1-13.

Theater program from Ash Wednesday 1872

In Victorian England, theatres refrained from presenting costumed shows on Ash

Wednesday, so they provided other entertainments, such as those shown on the
program at right, from 14 February 1872 at the Gaiety Theatre, London.

Dates
Ash Wednesday is a moveable feast, occurring 46 days before Easter. It fell on
6 February in 2008 and on 25 February in 2009. In future years Ash Wednesday
will occur on these dates:

• 2010 - 17 February • 2015 - 18 February

• 2011 - 9 March • 2016 - 10 February
• 2012 - 22 February • 2017 - 1 March
• 2013 - 13 February • 2018 - 14 February
• 2014 - 5 March • 2019 - 6 March
Historical notes: The earliest date Ash Wednesday can occur is 4 February (in a common year with
Easter on 22 March), which happened in 1573, 1668, 1761 and 1818. The latest date is 10 March (when
Easter Day falls on 25 April) which occurred in 1546, 1641, 1736, 1886 and 1943. Ash Wednesday has
never occurred on Leap Year Day (29 February), and it will not occur as such until 2096. The only other
years of the third millennium that will have Ash Wednesday on 29 February are 2688, 2840, and 2992.
(Ash Wednesday falls on 29 February only if Easter is on 15 April in a leap year.)

Denominations observing Ash Wednesday

These Christian denominations are among those that mark Ash Wednesday by holding a service of
worship or Mass:

• African Methodist Episcopal Church

• African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church
• Anglican/Episcopal churches (excepting most Sydney Diocese churches)
• Individual Baptist churches may hold a service
• Church of God (Anderson)
• Church of the Nazarene
• Some congregations of Community of Christ
• Some Free Churches
• The Liberal Catholic Church
• Lutheran Church
• Old Catholic Church
• Reformed churches (Presbyterian, United Church of Christ, Christian Church (Disciples of Christ),
etc.)
• Roman Catholic Church
• United Methodist Church
• Wesleyan Church

The Eastern Orthodox Church does not in general observe Ash Wednesday; instead, Orthodox Great
Lent begins on Clean Monday. There are, however, a relatively small number of Orthodox Christians who
follow the Western Rite; these do observe Ash Wednesday, although often on a different day from the
previously-mentioned denominations, as its date is determined from the Orthodox calculation of Pascha,
which may be as much as a month later than the Western observance of Easter.

National No Smoking Day

In the Republic of Ireland, Ash Wednesday is National No Smoking Day. The date was chosen because
quitting smoking ties in with giving up luxury for Lent. In the United Kingdom, No Smoking Day was held
for the first time on Ash Wednesday 1984, but is now fixed as the second Wednesday in March.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ash_Wednesday