What does ash wednesday mean?

Definitions for ash wednesday
ash wednes·day

This dictionary definitions page includes all the possible meanings, example usage and translations of the word ash wednesday.

Princeton's WordNet

  1. Ash Wednesdaynoun

    the 7th Wednesday before Easter; the first day of Lent; the day following Mardi Gras (`Fat Tuesday'); a day of fasting and repentance

Wiktionary

  1. Ash Wednesdaynoun

    A Christian day of penitence, the first day of Lent. It is a movable feast which takes place 40 days before Easter (excluding Sundays).

Wikipedia

  1. Ash Wednesday

    Ash Wednesday is a holy day of prayer and fasting in many Western Christian denominations. It is preceded by Shrove Tuesday and falls on the first day of Lent (the six weeks of penitence before Easter). It is observed by Catholics in the Roman Rite, Lutherans, Moravians, Anglicans, Methodists, Nazarenes, as well as by some churches in the Reformed tradition (including certain Congregationalist, Continental Reformed, and Presbyterian churches).As it is the first day of Lent, many Christians begin Ash Wednesday by marking a Lenten calendar, praying a Lenten daily devotional, and making a Lenten sacrifice that they will not partake of until the arrival of Eastertide.Many Christians attend special church services, at which churchgoers receive ash on their foreheads. Ash Wednesday derives its name from this practice, which is accompanied by the words, "Repent, and believe in the Gospel" or the dictum "Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return." The ashes are prepared by burning palm leaves from the previous year's Palm Sunday celebrations.

ChatGPT

  1. ash wednesday

    Ash Wednesday is a Christian holy day of prayer and fasting that marks the first day of Lent, a six week period of penitence leading up to Easter. Named for the practice of applying ashes to the foreheads of believers in the shape of a cross, it serves as a reminder of human mortality and as a sign of mourning and repentance to God. It is mainly observed by the Roman Catholics, Anglicans, Lutherans, and some Protestant denominations.

Webster Dictionary

  1. Ash Wednesday

    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

Wikidata

  1. Ash Wednesday

    Ash Wednesday is the first day of Lent in the Western Christian calendar. Occurring 46 days before Easter, it is a moveable fast that can fall as early as February 4 and as late as March 10. According to the canonical gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke; Jesus spent 40 days fasting in the desert, where he endured temptation by Satan. Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of this 40-day liturgical period of prayer and fasting or abstinence. Of the 46 days until Easter, six are Sundays. As the Christian sabbath, Sundays are not included in the fasting period and are instead "feast" days during Lent. Ash Wednesday derives its name from the practice of placing ashes on the foreheads of adherents as a celebration and reminder of human mortality, and as a sign of mourning and repentance to God. The ashes used are typically gathered from the burning of the palms from the previous year's Palm Sunday. Although generally seen as a Catholic practice, as it was mostly abandoned by Protestants except for Anglicans after the Protestant Reformation, it has become increasingly common in much of Christianity, now being observed by many Lutherans and Methodists in addition to Catholics and Anglicans.

Suggested Resources

  1. ash wednesday

    Song lyrics by ash wednesday -- Explore a large variety of song lyrics performed by ash wednesday on the Lyrics.com website.

  2. ash wednesday

    Read the full text of the Ash Wednesday poem by Alfred Lichtenstein on the Poetry.com website.

Matched Categories

How to pronounce ash wednesday?

How to say ash wednesday in sign language?

Numerology

  1. Chaldean Numerology

    The numerical value of ash wednesday in Chaldean Numerology is: 7

  2. Pythagorean Numerology

    The numerical value of ash wednesday in Pythagorean Numerology is: 2


Translations for ash wednesday

From our Multilingual Translation Dictionary

Get even more translations for ash wednesday »

Translation

Find a translation for the ash wednesday definition in other languages:

Select another language:

  • - Select -
  • 简体中文 (Chinese - Simplified)
  • 繁體中文 (Chinese - Traditional)
  • Español (Spanish)
  • Esperanto (Esperanto)
  • 日本語 (Japanese)
  • Português (Portuguese)
  • Deutsch (German)
  • العربية (Arabic)
  • Français (French)
  • Русский (Russian)
  • ಕನ್ನಡ (Kannada)
  • 한국어 (Korean)
  • עברית (Hebrew)
  • Gaeilge (Irish)
  • Українська (Ukrainian)
  • اردو (Urdu)
  • Magyar (Hungarian)
  • मानक हिन्दी (Hindi)
  • Indonesia (Indonesian)
  • Italiano (Italian)
  • தமிழ் (Tamil)
  • Türkçe (Turkish)
  • తెలుగు (Telugu)
  • ภาษาไทย (Thai)
  • Tiếng Việt (Vietnamese)
  • Čeština (Czech)
  • Polski (Polish)
  • Bahasa Indonesia (Indonesian)
  • Românește (Romanian)
  • Nederlands (Dutch)
  • Ελληνικά (Greek)
  • Latinum (Latin)
  • Svenska (Swedish)
  • Dansk (Danish)
  • Suomi (Finnish)
  • فارسی (Persian)
  • ייִדיש (Yiddish)
  • հայերեն (Armenian)
  • Norsk (Norwegian)
  • English (English)

Word of the Day

Would you like us to send you a FREE new word definition delivered to your inbox daily?

Please enter your email address:


Citation

Use the citation below to add this definition to your bibliography:

Style:MLAChicagoAPA

"ash wednesday." Definitions.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 24 Apr. 2024. <https://www.definitions.net/definition/ash+wednesday>.

Discuss these ash wednesday definitions with the community:

0 Comments

    Are we missing a good definition for ash wednesday? Don't keep it to yourself...

    Image or illustration of

    ash wednesday

    Credit »

    Free, no signup required:

    Add to Chrome

    Get instant definitions for any word that hits you anywhere on the web!

    Free, no signup required:

    Add to Firefox

    Get instant definitions for any word that hits you anywhere on the web!

    Browse Definitions.net

    Quiz

    Are you a words master?

    »
    move deeply
    A observe
    B disturb
    C condemn
    D aggravate

    Nearby & related entries:

    Alternative searches for ash wednesday: