英语课程计划-Ash Wednesday（在线收听）

Many Christians around the world celebrate Ash Wednesday, which marks the first day of Lent. It is the start of a religious period that leads up to Palm Sunday and the Easter holidays. On Ash Wednesday, people traditionally start fasting for 40 days, eating only simple food. The 40 days is because Jesus fasted in the wilderness for a similar period of time. Roman Catholics should only eat one full meal and two smaller ones during this time. Many Catholics will fast completely on Ash Wednesday or just have bread and water. It is one of only two days in the Catholic calendar when fasting is required. The other day is Good Friday. Ash Wednesday falls between February the 4th and March the 10th each year, depending on the date of Easter.

It is called Ash Wednesday because priests draw a small cross on the foreheads of people in church. The cross is a sign that you have regretted your sins and want to cleanse your soul. It is tradition to keep the cross on one’s forehead until the sun sets. In other churches, people write their sins on a small piece of paper, which is then burnt and turned into ash. In Biblical times, people covered themselves in ash to express their sorrow for their sins. Priests say a prayer to show we are all mortal and will return to ashes after we die. A traditional prayer is: “God our Father, you create us from the dust of the earth. Grant that these ashes may be for us a sign of our sins, and a symbol of our mortality.”