Each year, Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of Lent. Lent is a 40-day time period before Easter which begins on Ash Wednesday and ends on Holy Thursday. However, what is Ash Wednesday, and how is it celebrated in the Holy Land?
In 2021, Ash Wednesday falls on February 17. Ash Wednesday is also called the Day of Ashes.
Ash Wednesday starts Lent by focusing the Christian’s heart on repentance, and prepares the faithful to celebrate Christ’s suffering, death and resurrection through fasting, prayer and almsgiving.
Here are some interesting facts you probably didn't know about this significant holiday:
1. Wedding Masses may not be celebrated during Ash Wednesday.
2. The cross-shaped ashes that are placed on the foreheads of worshipers on Ash Wednesday, are meant to convey the themes of mortality and repentance like we are born again and raised from the dead through our redemption. Therefore, the ash is sometimes mixed with anointing oil, reminding us of the anointing that took place at baptism.
3. The ash often comes from the burned remains of branches from last year's Palm Sunday.
4. The cross-shaped ashes that are placed on the foreheads of worshipers on Ash Wednesday, are meant to convey the themes of mortality and repentance like we are born again and raised from the dead through our redemption.
Therefore, the ash is sometimes mixed with anointing oil, reminding us of the anointing that took place at baptism. The ash often comes from the burned remains of branches from last year's Palm Sunday.
5. Usually, this time of the year is filled with pilgrims from all over who join the local Christians to celebrate the Holy Week. Celebrating the Holy Week of Easter in the Holy Land is a dream come true for many Christian pilgrims, for it s is a priceless and remarkable spiritual experience.
Celebrating Easter in the Holy Land is a spiritual experience in itself, and especially in Jerusalem, the great city. The world’s attention turns to the city of Christ’s passion where it marks the path that Jesus walked towards his own death.
However, due to the coronavirus pandemic, there will almost be no pilgrims in the Holy Land due to the restrictions and regulations. This time of the year would be filled with pilgrims from all over the world who join the local Christians to celebrate Ash Wednesday.
Here are 10 interesting facts you probably don't know about Lent:
Ash Wednesday, (and Lent in general), is a time to open the doors of our hearts a little wider and understand our Lord a little deeper. It’s the season to reflect on one’s own actions and words, examine one’s relationships with God and with others, and to ask God to impart to our hearts the spirit of penance.
We, the Bethlehem Handicrafts’ team, are so proud to put the Holy Land in your hand by giving you a variety of the best and the most outstanding original Bethlehem’s olive wood carvings with the best quality made in the Holy Land.
