Ash Wednesday
Ash Wednesday
Ash Wednesday
Ash′ Wednes′day
n.
| Noun | 1. |  Ash Wednesday - the 7th Wednesday before Easter; the first day of Lent; the day following Mardi Gras (`Fat Tuesday'); a day of fasting and repentance |
| 单词 | ash wednesday | |||
| 释义 | Ash WednesdayAsh WednesdayAsh WednesdayAsh′ Wednes′dayn.
Ash Wednesday(ˌaʃ ˈwenzdi) nounAsh Wednesday→ 复活节前第七个星期三zhCNAsh WednesdayAsh Wednesday,in the Western Church, the first day of LentLent[Old Eng. lencten,=spring], Latin Quadragesima (meaning 40; thus the 40 days of Lent). In Christianity, Lent is a time of penance, prayer, preparation for or recollection of baptism, and preparation for the celebration of Easter. ..... Click the link for more information. , being the seventh Wednesday before Easter. On this day ashes are placed on the foreheads of the faithful to remind them of death, of the sorrow they should feel for their sins, and of the necessity of changing their lives. The practice, which dates from the early Middle Ages, is common among Roman Catholics, Anglicans and Episcopalians, and many Lutherans; it was also adopted by some Methodists and Presbyterians in the 1990s. Ash WednesdayThe Date Until the seventh or eighth century western European Christians began Lent on Quadragesima Sunday, the sixth Sunday before Easter. Begun on this date, Lent lasted forty-two days. The length of this season, approximately forty days, was modeled on the forty days of hardship endured by a number of important biblical figures before experiencing God's deliverance (see also Salvation). Jesus himself fasted in the desert for forty days before beginning his ministry (Matthew 4:1-11, Mark 1:12-13, Luke 4:1-13). Some Christian thinkers argued, however, that Sundays could not be included in the Lenten fast, since all Sundays celebrate the resurrection of Christ and therefore should not be observed as days of penance (for more on penance, see also Repentance). This argument eventually prevailed. During the seventh or eighth century Christian authorities in western Europe gradually began to add four more days to Lent, making the total number of days forty-six. Subtracting the six Sundays that occur during Lent from the total number of forty-six days left the season with exactly forty days. This adjustment meant that instead of beginning on Quadragesima Sunday, Lent began on the previous Wednesday, a day which came to be known as Ash Wednesday. Ash Customs and Symbolism Ash Wednesday takes its name from a religious custom unique to the day. At special Ash Wednesday services clergy members dip their thumbs in ashes and paint a cross on the forehead of each worshiper. As they do so, they say, "Remember that you are dust, and that to dust you shall return." These words recall the warning God gave to Adam and Eve before banishing them from the Garden of Eden (Genesis 3:19). Alternatively, the officiant may declare, "Repent, and believe in the Gospel," thereby echoing Jesus'proclamation as he began his ministry in Galilee (Mark 1:15). This ritual reminds worshipers of their own mortality and therefore of the need to improve their relationship with God and their relationships with fellow human beings (see also Sin and Redemption). It introduces the theme of repentance, which will characterize the rest of the Lenten season. Repentance may be thought of as a change of heart and mind that inspires a return to God. Palm fronds from the previous Palm Sunday are saved throughout the year and burned to provide the ashes needed for this ceremony. The imposition of ashes on Ash Wednesday is practiced in Roman Catholic churches as well as some Protestant ones. For example, some Episcopalian and Lutheran congregations observe this ritual. In addition, observant Roman Catholics fast on Ash Wednesday. The imposition of ashes was inspired by the symbolic role of ashes in the Bible. In the Bible ashes accompany or represent grief, destruction, mortality, and repentance. When Job repents his questioning of God's judgment, he declares, "I . . . repent in dust and ashes" (Job 42:6). In biblical times rampaging armies often burned the towns they conquered, reducing them to ashes. Thus ashes stand for death and destruction in some biblical imagery. Other potent images connect ashes with mourning, as when the grief-stricken put on a rough kind of cloth known as sackcloth and covered themselves in ashes (2 Samuel 13:19, Esther 4:1, Isaiah 61:3). History By the Middle Ages Christians had adopted ashes into their religious devotions. Many writers believe that the use of ashes on Ash Wednesday grew out of customs surrounding the public confession of sins practiced during early Christian and early medieval times. According to these writers, Christians whose sins, or errors, were deemed especially great were expected to arrive barefoot at church on the first day of Lent. They declared their sins in the presence of the congregation and expressed grief for their transgressions. Afterwards the priest sprinkled ashes on their heads and gave them a sackcloth garment covered in ashes to wear. Thus attired they departed to complete the penance that had been assigned to them by the priest (see also Repentance; Shrovetide). A penance is an act of religious devotion designed to nurture a change of heart and mind and inspire a return to God. In medieval days these penances might include prayer, charitable works, manual labor and physical hardships, such as sleeping on the ground and going barefoot. In addition, many Lenten penitents were forbidden to bathe, cut their hair, or talk to others during the six-week period. They returned to church again on Maundy Thursday to participate in a rite of reconciliation and to receive the Eucharist again for the first time since the start of Lent. Because a person's spiritual errors were often thought to stain his or her relatives, entire families might undergo this process of atonement together (for more on atonement, see Redemption). Between the eighth and tenth centuries this kind of public confession declined in popularity. Instead, people began to confess their sins to a priest privately. The practice of ashing sinners at the start of Lent lingered in some places. Nevertheless the nature of the ceremony began to change. By the eleventh century congregations in both England and Rome had adopted the practice of ashing all parishioners at the start of Lent. In 1091 the Council of Benevento made the imposition of ashes universal among Western Christians, ordering that every member of a Christian congregation, including the clergy, should receive ashes on Ash Wednesday. In 1099 Pope Urban II officially adopted the name Ash Wednesday for this, the first day of Lent. Further Reading "Ashes." In Leland Ryken, James C. Wilhoit, and Tremper Longman III, eds. Dictionary of Biblical Imagery. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1998. "Ash Wednesday." In E. A. Livingstone, ed. The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church. Third edition. Oxford, England: Oxford University Press, 1997. Metford, J. C. J. The Christian Year. London, England: Thames and Hudson, 1991. Myers, Robert J. Celebrations: The Complete Book of American Holidays. Garden City, NY: Doubleday and Company, 1972. Thurston, Herbert. "Ash Wednesday." In Charles G. Herbermann et al., eds. The Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Appleton, 1913. Available online at: Weiser, Francis X. The Easter Book. New York: Harcourt, Brace and Company, 1954. ---. Handbook of Christian Feasts and Customs. New York: Harcourt, Brace and World, 1952. Ash WednesdayDate of Observation: Between February 4 and March 10 Where Celebrated: Britain, Europe, United States, and by Christians throughout the world Symbols and Customs: Ashes, Jack-o-Lent Colors: Violet or purple is the ecclesiastical color associated with this day. Related Holidays: Burial of the Sardine, Easter, Lent, Palm Sunday, Shrove Tuesday ORIGINS Ash Wednesday is a significant holiday for Christians and marks the beginning of LENT . The word Christian refers to a follower of Christ, a title derived from the Greek word meaning Messiah or Anointed One. The Christ of Christianity is Jesus of Nazareth, a man born between 7 and 4 B . C . E . in the region of Palestine. According to Christian teaching, Jesus was killed by Roman authorities using a form of execution called crucifixion (a term meaning he was nailed to a cross and hung from it until he died) in about the year 30 C . E . After his death, he rose back to life. His death and resurrection provide a way by which people can be reconciled with God. In remembrance of Jesus' death and resurrection, the cross serves as a fundamental symbol in Christianity. With nearly two billion believers in countries around the globe, Christianity is the largest of the world's religions. There is no one central authority for all of Christianity. The pope (the bishop of Rome) is the authority for the Roman Catholic Church, but other sects look to other authorities. Orthodox communities look to patriarchs and emphasize doctrinal agreement and traditional practice. Protestant communities focus on individual conscience. The Roman Catholic and Protestant churches are often referred to as the Western Church, while the Orthodox churches may also be called the Eastern Church. All three main branches of Christianity acknowledge the authority of Christian scriptures, a compilation of writings assembled into a document called the Bible. Methods of biblical interpretation vary among the different Christian sects. For Roman Catholic and some Protestant churches, Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of LENT, a forty-day period devoted to self-examination and penitence in preparation for EASTER. Lent originally began in the Western Church on a Sunday. But since Sundays were feast days, Pope Gregory I moved the beginning of Lent ahead four days in the latter part of the sixth century. Gregory is also credited with having introduced the ceremony that gives this day its name. When penitents came to the church to ask forgiveness for their sins, the priest would take some ASHES and mark their foreheads with the sign of the cross while repeating what God said when He expelled Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden: "Remember, man, dust thou art and to dust thou shalt return." SYMBOLS AND CUSTOMS Ashes Ashes were a biblical symbol of repentance, based on the story of Job, who put on sackcloth and sat down in ashes to show how sorry he was that he had questioned the ways of God. According to the early medieval code of punishment, serious sinners who were ready to seek forgiveness had to come to the church barefoot on the first day of LENT. After they had expressed their sorrow, they had ashes sprinkled on their heads or were handed a sackcloth garment covered in ashes. As private confessions became more common, the practice of using sackcloth and ashes on individual sinners declined. Instead, ashes were distributed to the entire congregation. Ashes are also a symbol of mortality and the shortness of earthly life. When churchgoers have ashes placed on their foreheads on Ash Wednesday, they are reminded of the penitential nature of the Lenten season and of their own human bodies, which will return to ashes when they die. The ashes used on this day are made by burning the palms used during the previous year's PALM SUNDAY celebration. Jack-o-Lent The English used to dress a straw figure in old clothes and carry it through the streets on Ash Wednesday. Afterward, the effigy-known as Jack-o-Lent-was hanged. The figure was supposed to represent Judas Iscariot, who betrayed Jesus by identifying Him to His enemies as He left the garden of Gethsemane. But it may originally have been a symbol of the dying winter, similar to the Shrovetide Bear (see SHROVE TUESDAY). FURTHER READING Bellenir, Karen. Religious Holidays and Calendars. 3rd ed. Detroit: Omnigraphics, 2004. Ferguson, George. Signs and Symbols in Christian Art. New York: Oxford University Press, 1954. Gulevich, Tanya. Encyclopedia of Easter, Carnival, and Lent. Detroit: Omnigraphics, 2002. Henderson, Helene, ed. Holidays, Festivals, and Celebrations of the World Dictionary. 3rd ed. Detroit: Omnigraphics, 2005. Hole, Christina. English Custom & Usage. 1941. Reprint. Detroit: Omnigraphics, 1990. Metford, J.C.J. The Christian Year. New York: Crossroad, 1991. Santino, Jack. All Around the Year: Holidays and Celebrations in American Life. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1994. Tuleja, Tad. Curious Customs: The Stories Behind 296 Popular American Rituals. New York: Harmony, 1987. WEB SITES Catholic Online www.catholic.org/clife/lent/ashwed.php New Advent Catholic Encyclopedia www.newadvent.org/cathen/01775b.htm Ash WednesdayGregory is also credited with having introduced the ceremony that gives this day its name. When public penitents came to the church for forgiveness, the priest would take some ash (made by burning the palms used on Palm Sunday of the previous year) and mark their foreheads with the sign of the cross as a reminder that they were but ashes and dust. Eventually the practice was extended to include all who wished to receive ashes. In the East, ashes are not used, and Lent begins on the Monday before Ash Wednesday. On Ash Wednesday in Iceland, children try to hook small bags of ashes or stones to the back of people's clothing. See also Shrove Tuesday CRI/Voice Institute 4801 N.W. 62nd St. Oklahoma City, OK 73122 801-497-0946 www.crivoice.org AmerBkDays-2000, p. 131 BkDays-1864, vol. I, p. 240 BkFest-1937, p. 299 DaysCustFaith-1957, p. 64 DictFolkMyth-1984, pp. 82, 535 EncyEaster-2002, p. 19 FestWestEur-1958, p. 194 FolkAmerHol-1999, p. 106 FolkWrldHol-1999, p. 151 HolSymbols-2009, p. 50 RelHolCal-2004, p. 91 SaintFestCh-1904, p. 115 Ash WednesdayAsh Wednesday
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