Orange residents Sergio Fraga-Zacarias and Judit Ramirez, both 24, are looking forward to spending Valentine’s Day and Ash Wednesday — both of which fall on Wednesday, Feb. 14 this year — in prayer together. With both days coinciding, many churches and couples are getting creative.
“Come Ash Wednesday, we’re going to get our ashes, then after for our date night, I think we’re gonna keep it simple. Maybe a simple no-meat dinner, pasta with shrimp,” Fraga-Zacarias said.
Ash Wednesday marks the official start of the solemn 40-day season of Lent: a time of repentance and sacrifice in the Christian faith, that leads to Easter. Many Catholics, evangelicals, Lutherans, and other Christian denominations traditionally observe the day with prayer, fasting, tithing, and abstaining from meat or other luxuries. Many receive symbolic ashes on their forehead in the shape of a cross.
With the days coinciding, many are grappling with balancing romantic dinners with fasting, or giving up things like chocolate and sweets as Valentine’s Day gifts. Many faithful say that the two days share a lot in common, including a universal theme of love that echoes throughout the Christian season and the “Hallmark” holiday celebrating it.
Ash Wednesday is not a fixed date, as its timing is always 46 days before Easter Sunday — which this year is March 31.
To prepare for the start of Lent, Fraga-Zacarias and Ramirez attended a Valentine’s Day-themed talk and swing dance on Wednesday, Feb. 7, at Holy Family Catholic Church in Orange. The couple, who are thinking about getting married, met through their parish’s young adult ministry.
“As a couple, we guide each other towards Christ,” said Ramirez, adding she was looking for a practicing Catholic to marry. “We’ve been dating with intention. So it’s fun to have Ash Wednesday and Valentine’s this year fall on the same day, to discern and pray for each other.”
The themed event was a collaboration with…
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