Ash Wednesday

English Alternative forms en Ashwednesday Ash-Wednesday Etymology From en enm Asche Wednesday, from enm asche ash + enm Wednesday Wednesday, from the custom of using the blessed ashes of the previous year's palm fronds (cf. en Palm Sunday) to mark the heads of the congregation on the day. +com en ash Wednesday. Pronunciation en /æʃ wɛnz.dɛɪ/ GA en LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-Ash Wednesday.wav Southern England Noun ash Wednesday en Christianity The Wednesday 46 days before Easter in a given year, en Catholicism traditionally observed as the beginning of Lent and a day of strict abstention from certain foods and pleasures. en 1834 Penny Cyclopaedia II 454 Pope Gregory the Great introduced the sprinkling of ashes... which gave it the name of Ash-Wednesday. en 2026-02-16 Eler Alicia Lunar New Year, Ramadan and Lent in rare alignment this year. The holidays follow different solar and lunar calendars, but some of them sync up in 2026 w:Minnesota Star Tribune https://www.startribune.com/lunar-new-year-fat-tuesday-ramadan-and-lent-occur-around-the-same-time-this-year/601581997 Fat Tuesday, or Mardi Gras, is the last day to feast on rich, fatty foods before the 40-day Lenten season starts the next day, on Ash Wednesday. https://archive.ph/dHZPv 2026-02-16 en cocktail A cocktail made from a mix of gin, heavy cream, honey syrup, and blackberries Derived terms en Ash Monday Translations the Christian day of penitence 46 days before Easter Armenian: hy Մոխրոտ չորեքշաբթի Basque: eu Hausterre-egun Catalan: ca Dimecres de cendra m Cebuano: ceb Miyerkoles sa Badlis Chinese: Mandarin: cmn 大齋首日 dàzhāi-shǒurì, cmn 聖灰星期三 shèng-huī-xīngqīsān Czech: cs Popeleční středa f Danish: da askeonsdag c Dutch: nl Aswoensdag m Faroese: fo øskudagur m Finnish: fi tuhkakeskiviikko French: fr mercredi des Cendres German: de Aschermittwoch m Greek: el πρώτη Τετάρτη της Σαρακοστής f Hungarian: hu hamvazószerda Indonesian: id Rabu Abu Irish: ga Céadaoin an Luaithrigh f Italian: it Mercoledì delle Ceneri m, it Ceneri f-p Japanese: ja 灰の水曜日 はいのすいようび, hai-no suiyōbi Kashubian: csb Pòpielnô Strzoda f Korean: ko 재의 수요일 Ladin: lld Capion m Latin: la Diēs Cinerum m, la fēria quārta cinerum f Latvian: lv Pelnu diena f Malay: ms Rabu Abu Maltese: mt l-Erbgħa ta' l-Irmied, mt Ras ir-Randan Middle English enm Asche Wednesday Norwegian: Bokmål: nb askeonsdag m Nynorsk: nn oskeonsdag m Polish: pl Środa Popielcowa f, pl Popielec m Portuguese: pt quarta-feira de cinzas f Russian: ru Пе́пельная среда́ f Scottish Gaelic: gd Diciadain na Luathadh m Sicilian: scn mèrcuri dî cìnniri m Slovak: sk Popolcová streda f, sk Škaredá streda f colloquially Sorbian: Lower Sorbian: dsb šwigawa f Spanish: es miércoles de ceniza m Swahili: sw Jumatano ya Majivu Swedish: sv askonsdag c Tagalog: tl Miyerkoles ng Abo Vietnamese: vi Thứ Tư Lễ Tro Welsh: cy Mercher y Lludw m Yola: yol die oaskean References asshe-wednesdai n MED2604 2018 en Calendar