John B. Marek is a writer, farmer, outdoorsman and recovering economic developer. You can find his books at johnbmarek.com.
This year, a celestial twist of fate brings a rare and noteworthy alignment as Ash Wednesday coincides with Valentine’s Day. The confluence of these two events, significant in very different ways, offers an opportunity for reflection and a unique blend of spiritual and romantic observances. Today, we explore the origins of Ash Wednesday and Valentine’s Day and the historical context of the last time these two occasions shared the calendar.
Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of the Christian season of Lent, a period of reflection, repentance and preparation for Easter. On this day, many Christians attend services where they receive ashes on their foreheads in the shape of a cross. The ashes symbolize mortality, penance and the dust from which humans are made, as a solemn reminder of the journey toward spiritual renewal.
Traditionally, the ashes were created by burning the dried remnants of the previous year’s Palm Sunday fronds and mixing them with a few drops of olive oil. Few churches, however, preserve this ritual, and the majority of ashes distributed on Ash Wednesday come from religious supply catalogs (yes, there is such a thing, and they are FASCINATING) or by burning paper or wood.
Although Valentine’s Day also has a vaguely religious origin story, it is celebrated today almost exclusively as a secular holiday of romantic (or faux-romantic in the case of the kiddos) love. While named after Saint Valentine, a martyr executed by the Roman Empire, the holiday’s roots probably lie in the raucous Roman festival of Lupercalia, celebrating spring and fertility. Though officially replaced by the saint’s feast day, some speculate the holiday absorbed Lupercalia’s romantic elements.
One of the elements most closely associated with the day is the stylized heart. Historians have traced the “love heart” symbol back to the 13th and 14th centuries, coinciding with the rise of courtly love and romantic literature. Early depictions showed a more elongated, upside-down shape before evolving into the familiar one we recognize today. The exact origins of the shape are murkier, with some hypothesizing it is the seedpod of the silphium plant, which was said to have aphrodisiac properties, and others suggesting it is a stylized anatomical depiction.
I first realized the confluence of the occasions as I prepared my calendar for the growing season. That’s weird, I thought. As a kid growing up Catholic and attending a Catholic elementary school, I had memories of both Ash Wednesday and Valentine’s Day, but never the two on the same day. So I did a quick Google search and learned that I don’t remember it because it has only happened once during my lifetime, in 2018. Because of the odd celestial gyrations involved in determining the date of Easter and, by association, Ash Wednesday, the last time before that was 1934.
That’s probably just as well because the ways in which Catholic school kids of my era celebrated the two holidays were diametrically opposed. Ash Wednesday was a solemn day of prayer and fasting, while Valentine’s Day involved sharing cookies, cakes and candy. I am unsure how the nuns would have gotten around that, but I suspect they would have simply delayed the Valentine’s festivities until the 15th. Accommodations must be made.
It’s less of an issue these days, I suppose, since bringing baked goods to class is frowned upon under any circumstances. But rather than speculate, I decided to call my old school, Immaculate Conception, and find out how they’re dealing with the uncommon occurrence. It turns out they are celebrating Valentine’s Day on the 13th, which brings its own triskaidekaphobic nuances to the table.
Whether focusing on outward expressions of affection or inward contemplation, I hope you have a happy and meaningful Ash/Valentine’s Day, seeking harmony between different aspects of life and celebrating love in all its diverse expressions.