Ash Wednesday is February 22, and many Catholic Christians and Christians of other denominations will be entering the 40-day Lenten period. For those of you who may not be in the know, Beliefnet.com describes Ash Wednesday in this way:

“Ash Wednesday is the first day of Lent, a penitential season observed by many Christians. While the exact date of Ash Wednesday varies from year to year, it is always in either the month of February or March, depending on where Easter falls in the liturgical year. On Ash Wednesday, worshippers attend services at which they receive ashes on their foreheads. The pastor (or priest) marks the forehead of each worshipper, often saying, "Remember that you are dust and to dust you shall return."

(You can find out more about Ash Wednesday by clicking here.) 

Ash Wednesday is considered a “day of fasting and abstinence” – a practice which is encouraged and continued during the succeeding days of Lent. (Abstinence [meaning abstaining from meat] is for people of ages 14 and older, and fasting is for people ages 18-59. You can read more about this age-old Lenten observance here.)

However, many families choose to go beyond the call of the Church to “fasting and abstinence, prayer, almsgiving and scripture reading” by incorporating other activities or “Lenten traditions” that can be done at home. 

In fact, one who tries searching for “family Lenten traditions” online may be overwhelmed at all the links that come up. There are, in fact, many traditions and observances that one’s family can do to have a more meaningful, “personalized” Lenten season (and Easter celebration).