What is Ash Wednesday?
'''Ash Wednesday''' is the first day of [[Lent]] in the [[Western Christianity|Western Christian]] calendar. It occurs 46 days before Easter. The date is different each year because the date of Easter varies. It can fall as early as February 4 and as late as March 10. Those able to and willing to should [[fasting|fast]] voluntarily between Ash Wednesday and Easter. There are exceptions, though. [[Pregnant]] [[women]], [[Sickness|sick]] people, [[child]]ren, and the old usually don't have to. Ash Wednesday is a very important part of Lent. ==Dates== The dates of Ash Wednesday are: {|! Year !! Date |- | || 2000 || March 8 |- | || 2001 || February 28 |- | || 2002 || February 13 |- | || 2003 || March 5 |- | || 2004 || February 25 |- | || 2005 || February 9 |- | || 2006 || March 1 |- | || 2007 || February 21 |- | || 2008 || February 6 |- | || 2009 || February 25 |- | || 2010 || February 17 |- | || 2011 || March 9 |- | || 2012 || February 22 |- | || 2013 || February 13 |- | || 2014 || March 5 |- | || 2015 || February 18 |- | || 2016 || February 10 |- | || 2017 || March 1 |- | || 2018 || February 14 |- | || 2019 || March 6 |- | || 2020 || February 26 |- | || 2021 || February 17 |- | || 2022 || March 2 |- | || 2023 || February 22 |- | || 2024 || February 14 |- | || 2025 || March 5 |- | || 2026 || February 18 |- | || 2027 || February 10 |- | || 2028 || March 1 |- | || 2029 || February 14 |- | || 2030 || March 6 |} ==Related pages== * [[Advent]] * [[Carnival]] * [[Lent]] * [[Easter]] * [[Pentecost]] * [[Trinity Sunday]] {{U.S. Holidays}} {{religion-stub}} [[Category:Christian holidays]]