Ash Wednesday(1 March 2006)
Ash Wednesday, the seventh Wednesday before Easter, is the beginning of Lent for Western Christian churches. It's a day of penitence to clean the soul before theLentfast.
On this day, many Christians receive a mark of ashes on the forehead as a token of penitence and mortality.
**Symbolism of the ashes
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Ash cross marked on forehead
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The marking of their forehead with a cross made of ashes reminds each churchgoer that:
Death comes to everyone
They should be sad for their sins
They must change themselves for the better
God made the first human being by breathing life into dust, and without God, human beings are nothing more than dust and ashes
Lent (1 March 2006 - 16 April 2006)
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The Cross is the symbol of the Crucifixion, as opposed to the Resurrection. |
Lentis the period of forty days which begins on Ash Wednesday. The season is devoted toreflection, which is marked by fasting, both from food and festivities.
** Why is it called Lent?
Lent is an old English word meaning to lengthen. Lent is observed in spring, when the days begin to get longer.
**Do you know?
The colour purple is the symbolic colour used in some churches throughout Lent because purple is the colour associated with royalty, and celebrates Christ' s resurrection and sovereignty.
Holy Week(9 April 2006 - 16 April 2006 )
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Spain Seville Semana Santa Easter Holy Week Festival |
Holy Week, the last week of Lent, begins with the observance ofPalm Sunday. Palm Sunday takes its name from Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem where the crowds laid palms at his feet.
Holy Thursdaycommemorates the Last Supper, which was held the evening before the Crucifixion.
Friday in Holy Week is the anniversary of the Crufixion, the day that Christ was crucified and died on the cross.
Good Friday(14 April 2006 )
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Good Friday commemorates Jesus' crucifixion
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**Good Fridayis the Friday before Easter. It commemorates the execution of Jesus by crucifixion.
**Man Fridayis one of the main characters of Daniel Defoe's novelRobinson Crusoe. His name, in the novel given to him by Robinson Crusoe, has later become an expression used to describe a male personal assistant or servant.
(英語點津陳蓓編輯)
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