The beginning of March launches the first of several holidays and traditions with Roman Catholic roots such as Mardi Gras, Ash Wednesday, Lent and St. Patrick’s Day.
While they date back centuries, each comes with modern ways to celebrate or reflect, depending on what the holiday remembers.
Here’s what these holidays commemorate, according to church sources, why and how we celebrate them and what days they happen this month.
What and when is Mardi Gras or Fat Tuesday?
Fat Tuesday — Mardi Gras in French — is celebrated the day before Ash Wednesday. This year, Mardi Gras falls on March 4.
The name Fat Tuesday comes from households using up all the fats stored in the kitchen and pantry before Ash Wednesday and Lent begin.
Traditionally for cities with strong Catholic roots, like New Orleans, Mardi Gras is a day of wild partying, parades and extravagant eating before fasting on Ash Wednesday and Lent begins. In the 20th century, other cities and towns began hosting Mardi Gras celebrations, too.
In California, Nevada City and Yountville in the Napa Valley host Mardi Gras celebrations on Saturday, March 1. San Diego takes the King Cake with its five-day bash from Friday, Feb. 28 to Tuesday, March 4.
What and when is Ash Wednesday?
This year Ash Wednesday falls on March 5.
Also known as the Day of Ashes, Ash Wednesday is a traditional day of repentance for Christians. While most often observed by Catholics, many Lutherans, United Methodists, Presbyterians, Episcopalians and Anglicans also observe Ash Wednesday.
For the religious, it’s a time when Christians confess their sins and profess their devotion to God. They may keep a smudge of ash on their foreheads, possibly in the shape of a cross, throughout the day after attending a special Ash Wednesday morning mass. Those ashes symbolize both death and repentance, according to the Catholic Church.
This is a sober holiday, so people who observe Ash Wednesday usually avoid drinking alcohol, eating gourmet or what they consider fancy food, dining out in restaurants and non-essential shopping. Catholics aren’t supposed to eat meat on Ash Wednesday. Some opt to fast, eating one full meal a day or two smaller meals. However some people, including children and the elderly, are exempt from the fasting requirement on Ash Wednesday and during Lent.
Ash Wednesday kicks off the Christian tradition of Lent.
What and when is Lent?
Lent, a time of fasting and abstinence, happens over the approximately seven-week period between Ash Wednesday and Easter Sunday.
This year, Easter falls on April 20.
The period of Lent leads up to Christians’ remembrance of Jesus Christ’s crucifixion. Christians show repentance and mourning for their sins because they believe Christ died for them. They may practice the same fast they did on Ash Wednesday, and avoid meat — at least red meat, like beef and pork — on Fridays during Lent. Some churches gather weekly for Lenten supper: A light community potluck meal, usually accompanied by a priest’s or pastor’s blessing.
In addition to giving up meat, or in lieu of it, some people choose to give up a different habit, according to Christians on social media. Among those sacrifices, people listed giving up sugar or coffee, watching TV and checking social media.
What and when is St. Patrick’s Day?
Always celebrated on March 17, St. Patrick’s Day falls on a Monday this year.
St. Patrick’s Day is the celebration and feast day of the patron saint of Ireland. It’s also a day for Americans with Irish ancestry to celebrate their heritage. This, too, is a holiday with religious roots in Christianity, so parades and festivals are often preceded by a mass.
Different churches and different individual Christians reconcile fasting during Lent with feasting and drinking alcohol during St. Patrick’s Day. Some Catholics reported on social media they opt to fast an extra day to make up for a day of partying hardy. Others said they see moderate celebration as a way to break up Lenten fasting, making St. Patrick’s Day a sort of sweet reward for sticking to fasts during the rest of Lent.
Who was Saint Patrick?
St. Patrick is believed to have died at age 78 on March 17 in the year 465 at the Monastery of Saul in Ulidia, according to the Library of Congress. That’s why it’s always celebrated on that date.
Andy Eigenberger, of Sheboygan Falls, Wis., sports a green dyed beard in honor of St. PatrickÕs Day at The Cozy Bar, Sunday, March 17, 2024, in Plymouth, Wis.
St. Patrick was kidnapped and enslaved in pagan Ireland. He escaped his captors, then returned to minister to Irish Christians and convert non-Christians. He’s also remembered for synthesizing Roman Catholic practices with Irish cultural traditions.
Jessica Skropanic is a features reporter for the Record Searchlight/USA Today Network. She covers science, arts, social issues and news stories. Follow her on Twitter @RS_JSkropanic and on Facebook. Join Jessica in the Get Out! Nor Cal recreation Facebook group. To support and sustain this work, please subscribe today. Thank you.
This article originally appeared on Redding Record Searchlight: What to know about Mardi Gras, Ash Wednesday, Lent, St. Patrick’s Day
