QUINQUAGESIMA SUNDAY

 

The second day of Shrovetide

Shrove Sunday or Quinquagesima

Celebrated in the Christian church

As the fiftieth day before Easter

EGG SATURDAY

 

The first day of Shrovetide

Is Shrove or Egg Saturday

An Oxfordshire tradition

Sometimes called egg feast day

SHROVETIDE

 

Shrovetide begins on Egg Saturday

Heralding the coming of lent

And deciding what to give up

Is normally the way it is spent

ASH WEDNESDAY FIRST DAY OF LENT

 

The palm branches blessed on Palm Sunday,

Are the following year, burnt and blessed again

And placed on the heads of the participants

To the accompaniment of the familiar refrain

"Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return”

And the Lenten season has begun once again

ASH WEDNESDAY

 

Ashes are placed on the heads

Of worshipers on Ash Wednesday,

Either by being sprinkled or

More often the traditional way

By being marked as a visible cross

On their foreheads on the day

SHROVE TUESDAY

 

Since before the Christian era

Shrove Tuesday or Pancake Day

Was celebrated far and wide

And was originally a pagan holiday

 

Changing seasons was a struggle

Between Jarilo the God of brightness

Vegetation, fertility and springtime

And the evil spirits of cold and darkness

 

So they had to help the God Jarilo

And victory meant spring had begun

So they cooked and ate pancakes

Hot and round symbolizing the sun

IT’S LENT ONCE AGAIN

 

It’s Lent once again

That time of year

To de-clutter, A time

To tidy and clear

But it’s not the time

To tidy the garden shed

The garage or the loft

Or even under the bed

Lent is the time when

Spring cleaning begins

When we cleanse our souls

And wash away our sins