Here's When Ash Wednesday is in 2024, Plus What to Know About the Beginning of Lent
Christmas is always on December 25, Independence Day is always July 4, but Easter? Its date varies from year to year, falling anywhere between March 22 and April 25, based on dates of the full moon it comes after, and its date is tied to other important dates in Lent, including Ash Wednesday, the season leading up to Easter celebrated by Christians, especially (and Catholics, in particular).
What does hold true from year to year is that Ash Wednesday is always 46 days (or six and a half weeks) before Easter. Easter is on March 31 this year, which takes us to all the other dates we need to know for the Lenten season.
When is Ash Wednesday in 2024?
This year, Ash Wednesday takes place on Wednesday, February 14, 2024, coinciding with Valentine's Day this year. Those who plan to get ashes will go to a church service and receive the ash crosses on their foreheads.
What is the significance of ashes on your forehead?
If you’re familiar with Ash Wednesday—also known as the Day of Ashes—then you know that every year, people receive dark ash marks on their foreheads in the sign of a cross. Even if you’re not familiar with getting ashes, you’ve probably seen people walking around the grocery store or your office on Ash Wednesday displaying these black streaks. What’s the reason behind the ashes and why are they given on this day?
The ashes are meant to symbolize both death and repentance in order to begin Lent in a solemn, humble way. This is said to allow people to reflect on their sins throughout Lent before Easter, when Christians celebrate the resurrection of Jesus.
Most churches use palms from the previous year’s Palm Sunday mass to create the ash. When Christians receive ashes, the priest or pastor says, “From dust you came and from dust you will return.”
What is the significance of Ash Wednesday?
Ash Wednesday is the start of the Easter season as it marks the beginning of Lent. Though the day itself is not mentioned in the Bible, ashes are often used as a symbol of sorrow for sin in the bible, according to BibleInfo.com. Because Lent is a time for fasting, self-sacrifice, and repentance, it makes sense to begin the 40 day period with a symbolic gesture of solemnity.
What is the history of Ash Wednesday?
Though the holiday isn’t in the bible, the use of ashes as a symbolic gesture has pretty early roots, all the way back to the 11th century, priest and assistant professor Lauren F. Winner of Duke Divinity School told Time. She points to the book of Daniel where ashes were first associated with penance. But the day hasn’t always been observed in all of Christianity, as it once was a primarily Catholic holy day.
The practice of spreading ashes on foreheads became widespread in the U.S. as recently as the 1970s. It was part of a wider trend in American religion of people wanting to connect their physical and spiritual lives, Time explains. The mark became an obvious association with religion that people embraced, as they could wear it throughout the day.
What are you supposed to eat on Ash Wednesday?
Those who celebrate Ash Wednesday are expected to give up meat on the day, in addition to every Friday of Lent. Many people often fast on Ash Wednesday as well, meaning that only one meal (or two small meals) can be consumed that day.
You Might Also Like
