Ash Wednesday

Ash Wednesday
the first day of Lent.
[1250-1300]

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▪ Christian holy day
 in the Christian church, the first day of Lent, occurring 6 1/2 weeks before Easter (between February 4 and March 11, depending on the date of Easter). In the early Christian church, the length of the Lenten celebration varied, but eventually it began 6 weeks (42 days) before Easter. This provided only 36 days of fast (excluding Sundays). In the 7th century, 4 days were added before the first Sunday in Lent in order to establish 40 fasting days, in imitation of Jesus Christ's fast in the desert.

      It was the practice in Rome for penitents to begin their period of public penance on the first day of Lent. They were sprinkled with ashes, dressed in sackcloth, and obliged to remain apart until they were reconciled with the Christian community on Maundy Thursday, the Thursday before Easter. When these practices fell into disuse (8th–10th century), the beginning of the penitential season of Lent was symbolized by placing ashes on the heads of the entire congregation.

      In the modern Roman Catholic church (Roman Catholicism), on Ash Wednesday the worshiper receives a cross marked on the forehead with the ashes obtained by burning the palms used on the previous Palm Sunday. Worship services are also held on Ash Wednesday in the Anglican, Lutheran, and some other Protestant churches. Eastern Orthodox churches begin Lent on a Monday and therefore do not observe Ash Wednesday.

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Universalium. 2010.

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Look at other dictionaries:

  • Ash Wednesday — • The Wednesday after Quinquagesima Sunday, which is the first day of the Lenten fast Catholic Encyclopedia. Kevin Knight. 2006. Ash Wednesday     Ash Wednesday      …   Catholic encyclopedia

  • Ash Wednesday — (englisch für „Aschermittwoch“) bezeichnet: amerikanischer Spielfilm (1973) mit Elizabeth Taylor, siehe Die Rivalin amerikanischer Spielfilm (2002) von Edward Burns, siehe Ash Wednesday (2002) Roman von Ethan Hawke, siehe Aschermittwoch (Roman)… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Ash Wednesday — Wednesday Wednes day (?; 48), n. [OE. wednesdai, wodnesdei, AS. W[=o]dnes d[ae]g, i. e., Woden s day (a translation of L. dies Mercurii); fr. W[=o]den the highest god of the Teutonic peoples, but identified with the Roman god Mercury; akin to OS …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Ash Wednesday — n. the first day of Lent and seventh Wednesday before Easter: so called from the practice of putting ashes on the forehead as a sign of penitence …   English World dictionary

  • Ash Wednesday — Ash Wednes day ([a^]sh w[e^]nz d[asl]). The first day of Lent; so called from a custom in the Roman Catholic church of putting ashes, on that day, upon the foreheads of penitents. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Ash Wednesday — n [U and C] the first day of Lent …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • Ash Wednesday — noun count or uncount the first day of LENT (=the period before Easter during which Christians traditionally eat less) …   Usage of the words and phrases in modern English

  • Ash Wednesday —    Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent, is so called because of the custom of receiving blessed ashes on the head as a sign of repentance. The ashes, which come from the burning of palms blessed on the previous Palm Sunday,are administered with… …   Glossary of theological terms

  • Ash Wednesday — ► NOUN ▪ the first day of Lent in the Western Christian Church. ORIGIN from the custom of marking the foreheads of penitents with ashes on that day …   English terms dictionary

  • Ash Wednesday — For other uses, see Ash Wednesday (disambiguation). Ash Wednesday A cross of ashes on a worshipper s forehead on Ash Wednesday Observed by Followers of many Christian denominations, primarily Western Christian (see below) …   Wikipedia

  • Ash Wednesday — noun the 7th Wednesday before Easter; the first day of Lent; the day following Mardi Gras ( Fat Tuesday ); a day of fasting and repentance • Hypernyms: ↑Christian holy day • Part Holonyms: ↑Lent, ↑Lententide * * * noun [noncount] : the first day… …   Useful english dictionary

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