Valentine’s Day is also Ash Wednesday
Ash Wednesday is the start of Lent – will you be fasting or giving up something for the next six weeks?
As we celebrate Valentine’s Day, devout Christians are also celebrating and observing Ash Wednesday, the start of the period known as Lent, on 14 February this year.
Lent is a solemn religious observance in the Christian church calendar that begins on Ash Wednesday and ends approximately six weeks later, just before Easter Sunday, which falls on 1 April this year.
The purpose of Lent is to prepare the believer for Easter through prayer, by doing penance, mortifying the flesh, repenting of one’s sins, alms-giving, and self-denial.
This event is observed in the Anglican, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, Lutheran, Methodist, and Catholic Churches. Some Anabaptist and evangelical churches also observe the Lenten season.
Lent comes to its climax 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 in the remembrance of Jesus’ crucifixion on Good Friday, and ultimately culminates in the joyful celebration on Easter Sunday of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ.
During 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.
Do you celebrate Lent? Let us know by leaving your comment on our Facebook page, and tell us how you celebrate this special time of the year.
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