This year Ash Wednesday and Valentine’s Day coincide

He February 14th It’s a heavier holiday this year due to a collision of calendar events.

Yes it’s him Valentine’s Daythe annual celebration of love and friendship, marked by cute couples, enthusiastic elementary students… and detractors who mock 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 penitent season.

Why do Ash Wednesday and Valentine’s Day coincide this year?

Ash Wednesday is not a fixed date. Its date is tied to Easter Sunday and, for most Christians, this year’s Easter will fall on March 31. Easter also moves annually and ranges between March 22 and April 25, based on a calculation in the lunar calendar.

The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops explains: “Easter is celebrated on the first Sunday after the Easter full moon, which is the first full moon that occurs during or after the spring equinox (March 21). To find the date of Ash Wednesday, we go back six weeks, leading to the First Sunday of Lent, and four days before that is Ash Wednesday.”

This year, that day happens to be February 14.

WhatWhat happens on Ash Wednesday?

Not all Christians observe Ash Wednesday. Those who do, usually attend an Ash Wednesday religious service where a priest or other religious person draws an ash cross on their forehead, or something that at least resembles it. The distribution of ashes highlights human mortality, among other issues.

It is a mandatory day of fasting and abstinence for Catholics. Abstinence restrictions continue on Fridays during Lent, which is the period of repentance and penance leading to observances of the Easterthe most important of which is his belief in the crucifixion of Jesus and his resurrection from the dead.

Where do ashes come from?

The ashes typically come from palms used on Palm Sunday, which falls a week before Easter, according to the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.

The ashes can be purchased, but some churches make them by burning the palms of previous years. For example, several parishes and schools in the Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago plan to hold palm burning ceremonies this year.

QCan Catholics celebrate Valentine’s Day on Ash Wednesday?

In addition to the secular celebrations loaded with candy hearts and chocolate, February 14 is also the Feast of Valentine’s Day.

But Ash Wednesday, with its requirements of fasting and abstinence, is much more significant and should take priority, Catholic Bishop Richard Henning of Providence, Rhode Island, explained in the diocese’s official newspaper. His predecessor issued a similar message in 2018.

“Ash Wednesday is a much more relevant value and deserves our total devotion”said. “I respectfully ask that we maintain the particular importance of Ash Wednesday. If you would like to have dinner and drinks with your partner, please do so the Tuesday before. February 13 is Mardi Gras, ‘Fatty Tuesday,’ a perfect day to feast and celebrate!”

Who was Saint Valentine?

The history of Valentine’s Day and Saint Valentine himself is a little murky, but the holiday began as a liturgical feast for a third-century Christian martyr, according to Lisa Bitel, a professor of history and religion at the University of Southern California.

In The Conversation, his article titled “The ‘true’ Saint Valentine was not the patron saint of love,” He explains that there may have been more than one Valentine executed for his faith in the same time period, but none of them appear to have been romantics. The emphasis on love apparently came later.