A Farewell to Meat

Today is Ash Wednesday--the first day of Lent and below is what Wikipedia has to say about Lent. I personally found the last 2 sentences really interesting :)

Ignore the underlines--I couldn't get rid of them. Out out damned lines! 5 points will be awarded to the first person to identify which Shakespeare play that's stolen from, however, you must keep track of your own points.

All right, on to Lent-->

In the Western Christian calendar, Ash Wednesday is the first day of Lent. It occurs forty days before Easter, not counting Sundays, and forty-four calendar days (counting Sundays) before Good Friday. It falls on different dates from year to year, according to the date of Easter; it can occur as early as February 4 or as late as March 10.

At Masses on this day, worshippers are blessed with ashes by the celebrating priest. The priest marks the forehead of each participant with black ashes, in the shape of a cross, which the worshipper traditionally retains until washing it off after sundown. The symbolism echoes the ancient Near Eastern tradition of throwing ash over one's head signifying repentance before God (as related numerous times in the Bible). The priest or minister says: "Remember, man, that you are dust, and unto dust you shall return." or "Turn away from sin and be faithful to the Gospel."

The ashes are prepared by burning palm leaves from the previous year's Palm Sunday celebrations and mixing them with olive oil as a fixative. In the Roman Catholic Church, Ash Wednesday is observed by fasting, abstinence (from meat), and repentance—a day of contemplating one's transgressions.

It also marks the beginning of the Lenten season which lasts until Holy Saturday. On Ash Wednesday and Good Friday, Catholics between the ages of 18 and 59 are permitted to consume only one full meal each day, which may be supplemented by two smaller meals, which together should not equal the full meal.

The Anglican Book of Common Prayer designates Ash Wednesday as a day of fasting.
As the first day of Lent, it comes the day after Shrove Tuesday or Mardi Gras, the last day of the Carnival season. The word "Carnival" is in fact derived from the Lenten practice of giving up meat. The Latin root words "Carnae" and "Val" were combined to literally mean "Farewell to meat."