Ash Wednesday is a significant day in the Christian calendar, marking the beginning of the season of Lent. On this day, many Christians worldwide attend church services and have ash crosses marked on their foreheads as a symbol of repentance and mortality. However, there have been debates and discussions about the origins and possible pagan influences behind the observance of Ash Wednesday. Some argue that Ash Wednesday and its practices have roots in the pagan traditions of ancient Rome. They point to the fact that the use of ashes as a symbol of penance dates back to pagan rituals where ashes were used in various purification ceremonies. Additionally, the timing of Ash Wednesday, which falls on the same day as certain ancient Roman festivals, has led to speculation about its pagan connections.
Additionally, the timing of Ash Wednesday, which falls on the same day as certain ancient Roman festivals, has led to speculation about its pagan connections. However, it is crucial to note that the exact origins of Ash Wednesday are not definitively known. The practice of wearing ashes as a sign of repentance is primarily associated with the Christian ritual of fasting and penance.
Ash Wednesday
I was suprised at the number of people at my work that know nothing of Lent or what the significance of Ash Wednesday is. I am trying to explain to Catholics what a catholic sign day is. I wondered What You all thought of Ash Wednesday, and what are the Lenten traditions in your Church.
VirginiaHuguenot
Puritanboard Librarian
I think Ash Wednesday is a superstitious Roman Catholic holiday. It falls in between Mardi Gras (Fat Tuesday) and Lent, both being carnal observances though at opposite extremes of the spectrum.
This is the first day of Lent. It is called Ash Wednesday, because in the Roman catholic church the priest blesses ashes on this day, and puts them on the heads of the people. These ashes are made of the branches of brushwood or palms, consecrated the year before. The ashes are cleaned, and dried, and sifted, fit for the purpose. After the priest has given absolution to the people, he prays "Vouchsafe + to bless and sanctify + these ashes — that whosoever shall sprinkle these ashes upon them for the redemption of their sins, they may obtain health of body and protection of soul,["] &c. Prayers ended, the priest sprinkles the ashes with holy water, and perfumes them thrice with incense, and the people coming to him and kneeling, he puts ashes on their heads in the form of a cross with other ceremonies.
Ash Wednesday: Is it in the Bible?
No, it is not. Ash Wednesday is actually of pagan origin and was admitted into the church beliefs of the Catholic Church a few hundred years after Christ. This was the era when Constantine was attempting to weld pagans and Christians into a unit within the Roman kingdom.
Ash Wednesday is the first day of Lent. Roman Catholic churches of the Latin Rite use this service to prepare themselves for the passion and resurrection of Christ through self-examination, repentance, prayer, fasting, and self-denial. Ashes from the burned palms of the preceding year's Palm Sunday are blessed. With these ashes, the priest marks a cross on the foreheads of those who come forward and kneel, saying, "Remember, man, that dust thou art, and unto dust thou shalt return." (Genesis 3:19 KJV)
The churches of the Anglican Communion, as well as some other Protestant churches observe this day. Eastern Rite churches do not. Their Lent begins on the preceding Monday.
RamistThomist
Puritanboard Clerk
Aye, Andrew,I think it smacks of popery!, to use Reformer talk.
BobVigneault
Bawberator
For Lent I'm giving up such unscriptural nonsense. As a sagitarian I don't believe in trivial idlings like lent and the zodiac.
cupotea
Puritan Board Junior
Originally posted by maxdetail
For Lent I'm giving up such unscriptural nonsense. As a sagitarian I don't believe in trivial idlings like lent and the zodiac.
cupotea
Puritan Board Junior
Forgive me, but I don't even know what half these holidays are supposed to represent. Yesterday and today people have been talking about Pancake/Shrove/Fat Tuesday and Ash Wednesday, and I have no clue what the significance is. I know some people eat a lot on the Tuesday and then fast for forty days, and then Mardi Gras starts in New Orleans and they have some freaky parade. I also know there was some stupid movie made starring that guy that all the girlies like, Josh Hartnett or something, which parodies the tradition by trying to seriously follow it. You know the one I mean.
Why do people give things up? What the heck is Pancake Tuesday? I'm so confused!
tcalbrecht
Puritan Board Junior
Originally posted by Draught HorseAye, Andrew,
I think it smacks of popery!, to use Reformer talk.
Exactly. Works of supererogation.
XIV. Of Works of Supererogation.
Voluntary Works besides, over and above, God's Commandments, which they call Works of impiety: for by them men do declare, that they do not only render unto God as much as they are bound to do, but that they do more for his sake, than of bounden duty is required: whereas Christ saith plainly, When ye have done all that are commanded to you, say, We are unprofitable servants.
(Thirty Nine Articles)
[Edited on 9-2-2005 by tcalbrecht]
LadyFlynt
Puritan Board Doctor
bullet The Pagan History of Lent
The word lent comes from the Anglo-Saxon word lencten which means spring, which was derived from the Anglo-Saxon word lenctentid (pronounced LENG-ten-teed), which means the time of lengthening and flowering. The entire spring season was called Lenctentid. The ancient Anglo-Saxons (and other pagans) celebrated the return of spring with rioteous fertility festivals commemorating their goddess of fertility and of springtime, Eastre. In fact, the word Easter is derived from the Scandinavian Ostara and the Teutonic Ostern or Eastre, both pagan goddesses. The complete month of April was called Eostur-monath with the entire month was dedicated to Eostre. The pagan religion taught that Eostre was one responsible for changing a bird into a rabbit, this then is how the rabbit became an Easter symbol. Rabbits symbolize the fertility of springtime. It should be noted that the rabbit's capacity of abundant production of young is especially great at this time of year. I should also tell you that most ancient races, including the Anglo-Saxons, included spring festivals to celebrate the rebirth life, using the Egg was a symbol of fertility, life and re-birth. This is old Latin proverb catches this idea -- Omne vivum ex ovo. This means "all life comes from an egg".
One final note, the Lenten season’s length has varied throughout history, however 40 days, not including Sunday, were finally settled upon and established by Roman Catholic Canon Law said to commemorate the 40 days Jesus Christ was tempted by Satan in the wilderness.
So, how did such pagan things as Lent and Easter (I am not referring to the blessed Resurrection of Jesus Christ) come into the church? Alexander Hislop gives us the answer -- "To conciliate the Pagans to nominal Christianity, Rome, pursuing its usual policy, took measures to get the Christian and Pagan festivals amalgamated, and, by a complicated but skillful adjustment of the calendar, it was found no difficult matter, in general, to get Paganism and Christianity—now far sunk in idolatry—in this as in so many other things, to shake hands" (The Two Babylons).
Let’s move from human tradition, speculation and fabrication to biblical reality…Palm Sunday. Each Gospel gives an account of what Bible students call Jesus Christ’s Palm Sunday Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem. I would encourage you to read Matthew 21:1-11; Mark 11:1-11; Luke 19:29-40; John 12:9-19.
LadyFlynt
Puritan Board Doctor
John MacArthur discusses Lent in here as well as other parts of the pagan cycle.
JOHN MAC ARTHUR ON CHRISTMASS
This man has such a command of history and information to back up this discussion. Great. But, when he ends the discussion, he makes it clear that if he wants to stand with one foot on the rock and the other in the miry clay, so what? He will do whatever works to preach the Gospel. Well, the Gospel is NOT the first issue to our Lord.
1 Peter 3:15 But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear:
You cannot, sir, give an answer of the hope you have in Jesus Christ by participating in holidays and celebrations which directly blaspheme the Lord Jesus Christ and, at the same time, exalt pagan gods.
1 Corinthians 14:33 For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints.
MAC ARTHUR'S STATEMENT ON CHRISTMAS:
You asked about Christmas; I’ll tell you about Christmas.
In the early Greek periods, December was the month of orgies and feasts and festivals to the gods. It was the time of the feast of Saturnalia. The winter was coming, and they wanted to appease the gods, that they would survive the winter and they would see the spring and all of this. So these tremendous pagan festivals to Saturnalia and to many other deities were held in December. Now, the Constantine Roman Empire that came about in about 300 or so, after that they wanted to sort of Christianize everything, and so in approximately 450 AD the bishop of Rome decided that it would be really good if they could Christianize the festivals of December. So he determined in some kind of conjunction with the Bishop of Jerusalem that they would spot December 25 as the birth of Christ. And if they could pick December 25th as the birth of Christ, that might sanctify all of this, even though it’s highly unlikely that He was born then. They were really trying to overpower the paganism. But instead, they got a mishmash.
Mistletoe—that’s from paganism; Christmas trees—paganism; holly—basically is a rather pagan thing; Christmas cards—1864 and they were first invented by a business man who thought of a way to make money, and they had drinking scenes on them. So you can go right down the line. Saint Nicholas from Scandinavia was a saint in the Roman system who was supposed to leave things stuffed in little wooden shoes of kids who were good. This is not uncommon in Christianity.
Another illustration—just before Easter, traditionally the Christian church celebrates what season? Lent—you know where Lent came from? There’s no Lent in the Bible—none. It never appears in the Bible. It has nothing to do with the resurrection of Christ, but in ancient paganism, in the instructions of Baal and Ashteroth, and the deities of the ancients, it was believed that Tamuz or Baal—he goes by a lot of different names, Cupid, many names—but that Tamuz or Baal was killed by a wild boar, and when he was killed by a wild boar, his mother Semiramis, the high priestess of Babylonian paganism, mourned for him and cried for him for forty days, and at the end of those forty days, he was risen from the dead. So the whole concept of the forty-day mourning and going without and fasting has absolutely nothing to do with the resurrection of Christ but was an imposition on Christianity from pagan mystery religions of Babylon.
The mother-child perspective, where you see in the Roman churches, you know, the virgin or you see the pieta, the carving, this whole mother-child thing, does not come, basically, from Christianity. There’s no sentimentalization of that in the Bible, but it comes again from paganism. Semiramis, it was by the pagans, conceived her son Tamuz because she was implanted by a sunbeam. That would falsify what? The virgin birth. And after that she gave birth to her son without a human father. So that the mother-child cult really came through mystery religions of Babylon and in its pagan origin was superimposed on Christianity. And ultimately the confusion came out in the Roman Catholic system where you have Lent, which has no Biblical basis at all. In fact, that’s only one part of it.
But you know the term “queen of heaven”? I was reading a Catholic book the other day: Queen of Heaven—queen of heaven you can find in the book of Ezekiel. And the first queen of heaven was Semiramis the high priestess of Babylonian cults, the mother-child cult. Many of these features have come out of paganism and been superimposed across Christianity.
Now, that is not say we have to abandon all meaningful things. I mean, just because the world wants to mess up and confuse the issue, doesn’t mean I have to be confused about it. I could celebrate Christmas today if I wanted to, and I could celebrate it any day I want. And I can be grateful the Lord was born, or the Lord was risen from the dead, or whatever. That’s my prerogative as long as I understand the distinction. The part that I don’t think is necessary is for us to sort of just say, well, we will not do all of that. I think you miss something there. I think that if you want to honor the Lord Jesus Christ, that’s great, and if you are really good about it, you will capitalize on people’s sensitivity toward Christ at that season. I know that every Christmas season, I gear up to preach an evangelistic message, and people come to Christ because there’s a sensitivity. Plus psychologists tell us that the most depressing time of the year is the Christmas time. That’s when people are most depressed, because they’re supposed to be happy and they’re not. They look forward to all the family getting together. And the family gets together, and nobody likes each other. So there are some problems there.
But, yes, there’s no question about the fact that the systems of Babylon have been superimposed upon Christianity; there’s no question about that. So insofar as he brings that issue—There’s another book that’s very helpful called The Two Babylons by Hyslop, also a very, very helpful book.
This is the first day of Lent. It is called Ash Wednesday, because in the Roman catholic church the priest blesses ashes on this day, and puts them on the heads of the people. These ashes are made of the branches of brushwood or palms, consecrated the year before. The ashes are cleaned, and dried, and sifted, fit for the purpose. After the priest has given absolution to the people, he prays "Vouchsafe + to bless and sanctify + these ashes — that whosoever shall sprinkle these ashes upon them for the redemption of their sins, they may obtain health of body and protection of soul,["] &c. Prayers ended, the priest sprinkles the ashes with holy water, and perfumes them thrice with incense, and the people coming to him and kneeling, he puts ashes on their heads in the form of a cross with other ceremonies.
In the earliest days of Christianity, ashes were used as a visible sign of personal repentance and humility before God. The biblical references to ashes, particularly in the Old Testament, further support the Christian significance of this practice. Furthermore, the observance of Ash Wednesday and Lent is deeply rooted in the biblical narrative of Jesus' forty days of fasting and temptation in the wilderness. Lent is a period of preparation and introspection leading up to the celebration of Easter, symbolizing Jesus' death and resurrection. The focus on repentance, self-denial, and spiritual renewal during Lent aligns with the core principles of Christianity, rather than any pagan ideology. While there might be similarities or historical connections between certain pagan customs and the observation of Ash Wednesday, it is essential to recognize the distinctiveness and spiritual significance of this Christian holy day. For Christians, Ash Wednesday serves as a reminder of their mortality, the need for repentance, and the hope of forgiveness and redemption through Jesus Christ. Ultimately, the interpretation and understanding of Ash Wednesday, like other religious practices, may vary among individuals and denominations..
Reviews for "Ash Wednesday: Pagan Origins and Contemporary Significance"
1. John Smith - 1 star
I found "Is Ash Wednesday a Pagan Holiday" to be extremely biased and lacking in factual information. The author seemed more interested in pushing their own beliefs rather than presenting a well-researched argument. Moreover, the writing style was highly unconvincing, with several logical fallacies and unsupported claims. I would not recommend this book to anyone looking for an objective and balanced assessment of the topic.
2. Emily Johnson - 2 stars
While I appreciate the effort to explore the origins of Ash Wednesday, I found this book to be overly simplistic in its analysis. The author did not delve deep enough into the historical context and failed to provide substantial evidence for their claims. Additionally, the writing felt disorganized and repetitive, making it challenging to follow the argument. Unfortunately, this book was not what I expected and left me unsatisfied in terms of its content and structure.
3. David Thompson - 1 star
"Is Ash Wednesday a Pagan Holiday" is one of the most poorly researched books I have come across. The author's claims lack credibility, relying heavily on conspiracy theories and hearsay rather than concrete evidence. Furthermore, the writing style is confusing and convoluted, making it difficult to understand the main points being made. I was thoroughly disappointed by the lack of scholarly rigor in this book and would caution others against wasting their time on it.
4. Sarah Davis - 2 stars
This book attempted to question the origins of Ash Wednesday and its potential ties to pagan practices, but the argument fell flat for me. The author seemed more interested in promoting their personal beliefs rather than presenting a well-rounded analysis. The lack of credible sources and the overly speculative nature of the claims made it difficult for me to take this book seriously. I was left feeling unconvinced and disappointed by the shallow exploration of the subject matter.
5. Michael Brown - 1 star
"Is Ash Wednesday a Pagan Holiday" was an absolute waste of time. The author provided no substantial evidence to support their claims and relied solely on cherry-picked examples and anecdotes. The book's lack of scholarly research and credibility undermined any possibility of a meaningful discussion on the topic. I would not recommend this book to anyone seeking a thoughtful analysis of Ash Wednesday's origins.