Ash Wednesday

Ash Wednesday
   The first day of Lent; one of the two absolute Fast Days of the Church, the other being Good Friday. In ancient times the first day of Lent was called Caput Jejunii, i.e., "Head of the Fast," because Lent began on that day. It was also called Dies Cinerum, i.e., "Day of Ashes," from the custom of placing ashes on the head of penitents who presented themselves before the Bishop on this day. Ash Wednesday is a day of deep devotion, of prayer, fasting, self-examination and confession of sin. The public services are most solemn; the Proper Lessons, and Proper Psalms, the Collect, Epistle and Gospel, together with the Penitential Office to be especially used on this day, all mark it as a day of "weeping, fasting and praying." The Psalms appointed are the seven Penitential Psalms, viz., the 6th, 32d, and 38th, used at Morning Prayer; the 51st used in the Penitential Office, and 102d, 130th and 143d read at Evening Prayer. (See PENITENTIAL PSALMS.) The Church color for Ash Wednesday is purple or violet.

American Church Dictionary and Cyclopedia. — New York, Thomas Whittaker. . 1901.

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  • Ash Wednesday — • The Wednesday after Quinquagesima Sunday, which is the first day of the Lenten fast Catholic Encyclopedia. Kevin Knight. 2006. Ash Wednesday     Ash Wednesday      …   Catholic encyclopedia

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  • Ash Wednesday — Wednesday Wednes day (?; 48), n. [OE. wednesdai, wodnesdei, AS. W[=o]dnes d[ae]g, i. e., Woden s day (a translation of L. dies Mercurii); fr. W[=o]den the highest god of the Teutonic peoples, but identified with the Roman god Mercury; akin to OS …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Ash Wednesday — n. the first day of Lent and seventh Wednesday before Easter: so called from the practice of putting ashes on the forehead as a sign of penitence …   English World dictionary

  • Ash Wednesday — Ash Wednes day ([a^]sh w[e^]nz d[asl]). The first day of Lent; so called from a custom in the Roman Catholic church of putting ashes, on that day, upon the foreheads of penitents. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Ash Wednesday — n [U and C] the first day of Lent …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • Ash Wednesday — noun count or uncount the first day of LENT (=the period before Easter during which Christians traditionally eat less) …   Usage of the words and phrases in modern English

  • Ash Wednesday —    Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent, is so called because of the custom of receiving blessed ashes on the head as a sign of repentance. The ashes, which come from the burning of palms blessed on the previous Palm Sunday,are administered with… …   Glossary of theological terms

  • Ash Wednesday — ► NOUN ▪ the first day of Lent in the Western Christian Church. ORIGIN from the custom of marking the foreheads of penitents with ashes on that day …   English terms dictionary

  • Ash Wednesday — For other uses, see Ash Wednesday (disambiguation). Ash Wednesday A cross of ashes on a worshipper s forehead on Ash Wednesday Observed by Followers of many Christian denominations, primarily Western Christian (see below) …   Wikipedia

  • Ash Wednesday — noun the 7th Wednesday before Easter; the first day of Lent; the day following Mardi Gras ( Fat Tuesday ); a day of fasting and repentance • Hypernyms: ↑Christian holy day • Part Holonyms: ↑Lent, ↑Lententide * * * noun [noncount] : the first day… …   Useful english dictionary

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