While many will be celebrating Valentine’s Day this February 14, Roman Catholic faithful will go to church for Ash Wednesday, the official beginning of the Lent Season this year.
The observance of the Lent Season dates back to thousands of years and remains to be an important event of many Christian churches, including the Anglican, Lutheran, Methodist, and Roman Catholic churches. Every year, the Lent season officially begins with Ash Wednesday, whose date changes every year.
This year, the religious event falls on Valentine’s Day, February 14.
For Roman Catholics, Ash Wednesday begins with a mass attended by faithful. Once the mass ends, the faithful line up to have their forehead marked with a cross made from ash.
The ash used as a marking of the cross comes from the burned palm leaves blessed the previous year’s Palm Sunday celebration, which, on the other hand, is also a part of the Lent Season observance as it symbolizes Jesus’ entry to Jerusalem, wherein his path was covered in palm leaves.
Catholics who have their forehead marked with ash shaped as a cross usually allow…
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