Ash Wednesday begins the church Lent
Ash Wednesday begins the church Lent
Ash Wednesday is the first day of the Paschal Baptism. An opulent herring treat is difficult to digest with fast food.
With today's Ash Wednesday begins the church Lent. He is thus the first day of the Paschal Baptism and not the last of carnival. The introduction to the Roman Missal states: "On Ash Wednesday, which is to be held everywhere as fasting day, the ashen cross is granted." An opulent herring treat is therefore difficult to handle.
The quotation from the Missal also points to another custom of the day, the ashes rite. In ancient times, the ashes were not only signs of transience, but also detergents and the basis for soap making. Thus, the ash is at the same time a symbol of mourning and purification.
External and internal practice
Fasting is not to be confused with diet or slimming diets, but means a religiously justified restriction or abstention with the goal of physical as well as spiritual and spiritual cleansing.
After all, Christian fasting is above all an inward practice: central is the strengthening and maturing in the faith against temptations such as egoism, addiction, infidelity or bitterness, as well as the goal of opening oneself to God and fellow human beings. In a word, this is also expressed in the word meaning of "fasting": Middle High German "vasten", gothic "fastan", is thus a "holding, guarding, observing" of the commandments.
March 6, 2019 is Ash Wednesday. Carnival Out, Fasting and Politics: Learn how the day is celebrated, where the name comes from and whether it is a holiday.
Ash Wednesday - a holiday?
Ash Wednesday on March 6 is the start of Lent 2019. It almost sounds as if it could be a holiday. He is not. Neither in Catholic Bavaria, nor in the carnival strongholds in the Rhineland.
This also means: All shops are normally open.
Ashes to ashes: where the name comes from
Nevertheless, it is an important day for the Jecken and Christians: Ash Wednesday is the first day of the 40-day Lent until Easter (the Sundays are not counted). 40 days because the Bible says Jesus was fasting in the desert for so long.
