Ash Wednesday

First day of Lent in Western Christianity

Ash Wednesday is a holy day of prayer and fasting in many Western Christian denominations. It is preceded by Shrove Tuesday and marks the first day of Lent: the seven weeks of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving before the arrival of Easter. Ash Wednesday is observed by Christians of the Catholic, Lutheran, Moravian, Anglican (Episcopalian), and United Protestant denominations, as well as by some churches in the Reformed (including certain Congregationalist, Continental Reformed, and Presbyterian churches), Baptist, Methodist, and Nazarene traditions.

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