Things You Must Know About Ash Wednesday and Lent

Many may not know what Ash Wednesday is or why Lincoln County people wear cross-shaped ash on their foreheads.

[{"selector":"#anim-b680c15b-b08f-4a6b-95e8-968593fc3ea8","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":0,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.4, 0.4, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}]

Ash Wednesday begins Lent. It focuses Christians on repentance and prayer via personal and community confession.

[{"selector":"#anim-72b1385d-f000-44b9-abec-56d98eae3b2d","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":0,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.4, 0.4, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}]

46 days before Easter is Lent. Repentance, fasting, introspection, and celebration mark the 40-day season, excluding Sundays.

[{"selector":"#anim-12c062d8-e740-4305-b426-89b1f52e9145","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":0,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.4, 0.4, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}]

Ash Wednesday is most often observed at Catholic Mass or Lutheran liturgy, but other Protestant Christian faiths and churches also observe it.

[{"selector":"#anim-4c4d1252-5edd-4623-8147-ddaa895d519d","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":0,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.4, 0.4, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}]

The service is usually quiet and reflective.

[{"selector":"#anim-9a7a98c6-e5fa-4274-8393-bbe43006e740","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":0,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.4, 0.4, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}]

The priest or pastor applies cross-shaped ashes to the congregation's foreheads after confession and prayer.

[{"selector":"#anim-9a0d2c65-029c-469c-920d-026133de6c98","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":0,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.4, 0.4, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}]

Burning palm branches from Palm Sunday, when churches remember Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem before his crucifixion and resurrection, produces the ashes.

[{"selector":"#anim-79e94296-dd09-4039-9b18-517c65fb8b6e","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":0,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.4, 0.4, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}]

The First Council of Nicaea in 325 A.D. established Lent, whose roots are unknown.

[{"selector":"#anim-0babb655-8d1f-4912-9223-a324dbf6fe14","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":0,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.4, 0.4, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}]

Lent 2023 important dates

[{"selector":"#anim-4c6612aa-7d05-43eb-b553-5d0d347ea1c4","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":0,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.4, 0.4, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-f84e576d-af11-4d71-93b1-bcfb14ce18ab","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":0,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.4, 0.4, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] Ash Wednesday, Feb. 22 Palm Sunday, April 2 Holy Week, April 2-8 Maundy Thursday, April 6 Good Friday, April 7 Easter (Resurrection) Sunday, April 9