The Ash Wednesday It is one day linked to the celebration of the Christian Easter because it marks the beginning of the Lenta period of forty days dedicated to reflection, penance and spiritual preparation that leads to Easter. The name “Wednesday of the ashes” derives directly from the liturgical rite that characterizes this day: during the mass, the priest imposes on the head of the faithful the Benedette ashesobtained by burning i Palm Sunday olive branches of the previous year.
This anniversary always falls the day after the Grasso Tuesday (last day of the Carnival, it is not considered a national holiday) and its location in the calendar depends directly from the date of Easter Sunday. In fact, this holiday does not have a fixed date, but is celebrated on the first Sunday following the first full moon that follows the spring equinox: consequently, even on the age of alms from year by year, in turn determining the Carnival period, which ends the previous day. The close relationship between these two holidays highlights the link between the Christian liturgical calendar and the lunar cycles.
Traditionally on Ash Wednesday is a day of penance And fast: the Christian faithful seek as far as possible to fast and abstain from meata custom shared with Hindu, Muslims and Buddhists: these are practices used over the centuries to attract the attention of the divinity or ask for special thanks. Today the Christian rite sees in this small daily sacrifice a means of purifying and preparing In Lent first, and then Easter then. The imposition of the ashes is one of the most significant moments of the Lenten journey and the Easter period, since it contains a double symbolic value in itself: on the one hand, the ashes recall the fragility and the transience of human lifein line with biblical words “Dust you were and dust will return“; on the other, they represent a sign of repentance and inner renewal, symbolizing the return of man to God and his conversion to the evangelical message. For this reason the priest accompanies this rite by pronouncing a significant formula: “Convert and believe in the Gospel“, Thus exhorting the faithful to embark on the path of faith and reflection that leads to Easter.
