Why is the first day of Lent called Ash Wednesday?
To commemorate the beginning of Lent, the pastor usually marks the forehead of Christians with a cross, by using ash, to remind them that they are created from dust, and will return to dust. This ritual echoes the burial words, “Ashes to ashes; dust to dust.” Ashes serve as a reminder of our mortality and our need to repent before this life is over. Good Friday A day of mourning Every year I get many phone calls from people who want to wish me on Good Friday. They are not to be blamed, for the name is misleading. They assume that if it is ‘Good’ Friday, something good must have happened on this day. They are quite astonished when I tell them that this is a day of mourning for the Christians as Christ was crucified on this day. “Then what’s good about it?” they ask. I tell them that the death of Christ symbolizes the victory of good over evil, but that explanation somehow leaves them more puzzled than before. Ever since I was a child, Good Friday meant dragging myself out of bed on a sc
