This past week was Mardi Gras. I have already talked about fat Tuesday and how it's also known as Pancake Tuesday, now it's time to talk about Ash Wednesday and how it came about. It's mainly known to be a Catholic holiday and the start of Lent. Easter can always be tracked from it because it's 46 days after. Believe it or not, it has a non- Christian origin ( Bibleinfo.com ) The time period spent fasting came about because it was Constatine's goal to bring together pagans and Christians within the Roman kingdom. It was 40 days, but Pope Gregory moved Lent from the forth Sunday of the year to Ash Wednesday with six Sundays counting as feast days.

Ash Wednesday is not mentioned in the Bible. I believe that the traditions of ashes on the forehead came about because in biblical times, people that sinned sprinkled themselves with ashes. They did this to mark themselves as sinners and for repetence.

I have always wondered why and how Ash Wednesday came about, I just assumed that it was for everyone to rid themselves of guilt for all the crazy stuff they did during Mardi Gras. I am used to celebrating it for a week, not just a day.