Ash Wednesday

Lent Ash Wednesday is after Shrove Tuesday. Ash Wednesday is when Lent begins. Ash Wednesday was February 10, 2016. Lent lasts for 40 days. It is the day many Christians begin to fast. How many days of Lent remains?   Lent leads up to Easter day. It is a very important Christian festival. Lent is a sad time when Christians remember how Jesus spent 40 days and nights alone in the wilderness being tempted by the Devil. Jesus used this time to prepare for His work by fasting and praying.

Many Christians spend the 40 days of Lent preparing for Easter Day Many Christians spend the 40 days of Lent preparing for Easter Day. Some will give up certain foods or other luxuries, to help them concentrate on God. This is also a reminder of the fact that Jesus did not eat for the forty days that he was in the wilderness or desert. Christians will ask for God’s forgiveness for the times they do the wrong things (sinned), and pray for His help to live in the way that He wishes. Christians remember all that Jesus did for each of them when He died on the cross on the first Good Friday.

What happens on Ash Wednesday? Ash Wednesday is the first day of Lent. Some Christians will attend a special service at their church on Ash Wednesday where the priest will perform a ceremony. The priest will bless the ashes made from palm branches and that were made into crosses. These wooden Palm crosses are from the previous year’s Palm Sunday. Palm Sunday is when Jesus entered Jerusalem triumphantly on a donkey. This is celebrated in church. Contains ashes Palm crosses

What happens in church on Ash Wednesday? In some churches (for example the Catholic, Anglican, Methodists, Baptist and other Christian churches) the worshippers are marked with ashes in the sign of the cross to symbolise death and sadness for the bad things they have done. It can also symbolizes confessions. The ceremony is different in each church but basically the priest marks the person’s forehead and says some words, e.g. “Repent, and believe in the Gospel”. Or in some churches you can write your sins you wish to confess to on a small card and ask for forgiveness. All the cards are brought to the altar and burnt.

Ash Wednesday ceremony in church The priest marks her forehead with blessed ash in the sign of the cross.