February 14 is a holiday heavyweight this year due to a calendar conflict of events.
Yes, it’s Valentine’s Day, the yearly celebration of love and friendship distinguished by attractive couples, enthusiastic primary school pupils, and opponents who rail against its commercialization. But it also happens to be Ash Wednesday, the solemn day of fasting and reflection that marks the beginning of Christianity’s most penitential season.
Why is Ash Wednesday falling on Valentine’s Day this year?
Ash Wednesday is not a set date. It is timed to coincide with Easter Sunday, which this year falls on March 31 for the majority of Christians.
According to a lunar calendar estimate, Easter also changes around once a year, between March 22 and April 25.
According to the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, Easter is observed on the first Sunday following the Paschal full moon, which occurs on or after the spring equinox (March 21). To find the date for Ash Wednesday, we go back six weeks to the First Sunday of Lent, four days before Ash Wednesday.
This year, it occurs to be February 14.
What happens on Ash Wednesday?
Not every Christian observes Ash Wednesday. Those who do often attend an Ash Wednesday church service, during which a priest or other minister writes an ash cross — or what appears to be one — on their forehead. The dispersion of ashes emphasizes human death, among other themes.
It is a mandatory day of fasting and abstinence for Catholics. The abstinence rules are maintained on Fridays during Lent, the period of repentance and penance before Holy Week observances, most notably their belief in Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection from the dead.
WHERE DID THE ASHES COME FROM?
According to the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, the ashes are usually from palms used on Palm Sunday, a week before Easter.
Ashes can be purchased, but some churches create their own by burning palms from previous years. For example, several churches and schools in the Chicago Catholic Archdiocese want to organize palm-burning ceremonies this year.
Can Catholics celebrate Valentine’s Day on Ash Wednesday?
In addition to the candy heart and chocolate-fueled secular celebrations, February 14 is the Feast of St. Valentine. However, Ash Wednesday, which requires fasting and abstinence, is considerably more important and should be prioritized, according to Catholic Bishop Richard Henning of Providence, Rhode Island, in the diocese’s official journal. His predecessor sent a similar letter in 2018.
“Ash Wednesday is the much higher value and deserves the full measure of our devotion,” he said. “I respectfully request that we keep Ash Wednesday’s particular importance. If you wish to wine and dine your Valentine, please do so on the Tuesday before. February 13 is Mardi Gras, or ‘Fat Tuesday,’ a great day to feast and revel!”
Who was Saint Valentine, On Valentine’s Day
The origins of Valentine’s Day and St. Valentine are unclear, but the event began as a liturgical feast day for a third-century Christian martyr, according to Lisa Bitel, a history and religion professor at the University of Southern California.
In the Conversation, her piece, “The’real’ St. Valentine was no patron of love,” indicates that there may have been more than one St. Valentine beheaded for their beliefs simultaneously, but none of them appear to have been romantic. The emphasis on love appears to have occurred later.
SOURCE – (AP)
