Shrove Tuesday
Today is the last day of Shrovetide, and a time of merrymaking before Lent. Also known as Mardi Gras.
Wed. 2/21
All day
Ash Wednesday
46 days before Easter. The Day of Ashes, is the first day of Lent, occuring forty days before Easter not counting Sundays. The ancient custom on this day is for the faithful to receive on the forehead the sign of a cross marked with blessed ashes. The palms from the previous Palm Sunday are burned and the ashes are blessed for the ceremony before the Mass.