Tag: Easter

Ash Wednesday

ANNOUNCEMENTS Blogs Christianity Customs and Traditions Easter/Lent Origin People Religion The Bible THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

Ash Wednesday

Following Shrove Tuesday yesterday, today is Ash Wednesday, the official first day of Lent during the Christian year and the prelude to Easter.

Lent represents the 40 days that Jesus Christ spent in the wilderness, fasting and contemplating his mission on earth.

Today is known as the ‘Day of Ashes’ because of the practice of having ash rubbed &  drawn on the forehead in the shape of a cross (representing Christ’s crucifixion), by a priest at the dedicated Ash Wednesday church service.

The priest and participants from the church congregation intone the phrase either the words:-

“Repent, and believe in the Gospel” or  the dictum “Remember that you are dust, and to dust, you shall return.”       

Anglican, Catholic, and most Protestant and Christians hold Ash Wednesday services around the world. Following the service, participants observe some sort of fasting, abstinence and spiritual contemplation for 40 Days, ending on Maundy Thursday in 2018.

The practice of using ash comes from the 11th Century and is taken from the Biblical Book of Daniel, where ashes are regarded as a sign of Penance & fasting.

The ashes are normally made by the burning of palm crosses. These palm crosses were handed out to church congregations during the previous year’s Palm Sunday service (commemorating Christ’s entry into Jerusalem to crowds waving palm leaves in celebration) and given back to the priest shortly before Ash Wednesday.

The priest will then burn the crosses and mix the ash normally with Holy Oil to sanctify and make a ‘paste’ with which to rub on the participant’s forehead.

The Roman Catholic 5-Points of Ash Wednesday.

Father Rix, a young Filipino Catholic priest had very succinctly put that putting ashes on your forehead without knowing or practice the five embodiment of Ash Wednesday was just like putting dirt on your forehead and nothing relevant about it.

What are the 5 Points?

  1. Repentance; we have to accept our sins, change and not do it again then move forward.
  2. Quaresma is the 40 days of repentance before Easter, where you give up something you enjoy as a reminder that you are in repentance.
  3. Fasting and Abstinence.
  4. Prayers and Alms-giving
  5. Ash reminds us of our mortality that we came from dust and in dust, we shall return.

Holy Week – The Timeline

Easter/Lent
Holy Week,Semana Santa, Easter

Holy Week, Semana Santa, Easter

For most of the western world, Holy Week has become a contest or a treat of how much  chocolate eggs you can eat, completely bypassing the fact that this celebration is the most important religious event in the Christian life.

It is during Easter/Semana Santa/Holy Week that our Lord, Jesus Christ was nailed on the cross, to bear all our sins and wrong-doings in his death.  His resurrection gives us a newness of life, to kickstart us into the path of righteousness in accordance with the commandments of God, The Father.

The Easter egg is a symbol of a new life, like a chick being hatched out of an egg.

Holy Week – The Timeline

Palm Sunday

Jesus, the Messiah, rode in to Jerusalem on a donkey.  He was welcomed with much rejoicing by palm leaves bearing people.

Holy Monday

Jesus cleansed the synagogue of money lenders, etc.

Jesus was anointed at Bethany.

Holy Tuesday

Jesus teaches at the temple.

Holy Wednesday

Judas betrayed Jesus for 30 pieces of silver.

Maundy Thursday

Washing of the feet by the master to his servants.  It means everyone is equal. It is also commemorates the Last Supper.

Good Friday

Jesus Dies on the Cross.

Black Saturday

Easter Sunday

The Ressurection.

………………………………………………

Did you know?

The Roman Catholic Church use Computus by way of calculating the date of Easter since the Middle Ages.

Easter is determined by the full moon, which chases the Spring Equinox.

The earliest possible date for Easter is 22 March, however it cannot be later than 25 April. Now for the 21st Century,  The Computus app (Application) can be downloaded to iPhone/iPad/smartphone etc.

Hot Cross Buns

Blogs Christianity FOOD & DRINKS GLOBAL LIBRARY Religion

With Lent now underway in many Christian countries, following the tradtional pancakes eaten on Shrove Tuesday (Mardi Gras) before Ash Wednesday as the begining of the 40 day Lent, buns are traditionally eaten hot or toasted during Lent through to Good Friday. The cross on the buns rperesents the symbol of the Crucifixion. The first known use of the term “hot cross bun” was not until 1733.

Some historians think that buns marked with a cross were eaten by Saxons in honour of the goddess Eostre (the cross is thought to have symbolised the four quarters of the moon);[2] “Eostre” is probably the origin of the name “Easter”. Further claims are that the Greek Orhodox Church marked cakes with a cross, much earlier.
In the times of Elizabeth I of England (1592), the London Clerk of Markets issued a decree forbidding the sale of hot cross buns and other spiced breads, except at burials, on Good Friday, or at Christmas. The punishment for transgressing the decree was forfeiture of all the forbidden product to the poor. As a result of this decree, hot cross buns at the time were primarily made in home kitchens. Further attempts to suppress the sale of these items took place during the reign of James VI (1603-1625)

There is a popular nursery rhyme about the selling of hot cross buns

We had our first hot cross buns this Sunday morrning for breakfast and yummy they were:-) They were made from a special recipe of top chef Heston Blumenthal for Waittrose supermarket chain. The pastry contained Earl grey tea flavour with manderin orange and raisins. The buns are heated in the oven  at 180c for 10 minutes then buttered to melt!

Our Delicious breakfast hot cross buns today (Heston Blumethal recipe)

Our delecious breakfast Hot Cross Buns