Ash Wednesday, in the Western Christian calendar, is the first day of Lent and occurs forty-six days (forty days not counting Sundays) before Easter. It is a moveable fast, falling on a different date each year because it is dependent on the date of Easter. It can occur as early as the 4th of February (5th February on leap years) or as late as the 10th of March. - Source: Wikipedia
Starting his public farewell to his flock, a weary Pope Benedict XVI celebrated his final public Mass as pontiff, presiding over Ash Wednesday services hours after a bittersweet audience that produced the extraordinary scene of the pope explaining his decision to step down directly to the faithful.
Brazil's patent authority has taken a bite out of Apple with an announcement Wednesday that the iPhone name in Brazil belongs to a local company called Gradiente SA, not to the global computer giant.
A New Zealand volcano erupted with a brief blast of dark ash Wednesday, canceling flights but causing no significant damage. Schoolchildren and dozens of other hikers who were walking on trails along the mountain's base were safe.
A New Zealand volcano erupted with a brief blast of dark ash Wednesday, canceling flights but causing no significant damage. Schoolchildren and dozens of other hikers who were walking on trails along the mountain's base were safe.
D.C. fire chief never fully vetted; D.C. having budget 'kerfuffle'; Romney wins Virginia; P.G. police decide to charge council member Toles with reckless driving; Details emerge about Md. assembly's 'doomsday' budget; Maryland Democrats pose another smoking ban; 50th anniversary of deadly Ash Wednesday storm; Muth indicted for first-degree murder in death of Georgetown socialite; MoCo approves cameras on outside of school buses.
Lent began last week, and like clockwork, China's communist government ramped up its persecution of the country's Catholics. Every holy season, Beijing and local cadres bulldoze churches and round up believers to remind Christians that there are severe consequences to faith in the officially atheist People's Republic. Christmas, for example, is a particularly popular time to arrest priests. For millions of suffering Chinese trying to worship freely, martyrdom at the hands of the state isn't a relic of past ages; it's a fact of everyday life.
Cleanup crews replaced raucous street bands and exhausted revelers took a break from dawn-to-dawn parties as Rio prepared to wrap up one of its biggest Carnival celebrations Wednesday with the highly anticipated announcement of this year's samba champion.
She flipped a pancake on Shrove Tuesday _ and somehow it even landed back in the pan.
The Saints' first Super Bowl title was so big in New Orleans that Mardi Gras, a revered local institution dating back well more than a century, became popularly known as, "Lombardi Gras."
The Saints' first Super Bowl title was so big in New Orleans that Mardi Gras, a revered local institution dating back well more than a century, became popularly known as, "Lombardi Gras."
