The Christian season of Lent begins today, 40 days before Easter (not counting Sundays). Many Christians attend church services on Ash Wednesday to receive ashes on their foreheads in the sign of the cross. (Ashes are a symbol of penance in the Old Testament and in pagan antiquity.) In the Roman Catholic Church, Ash Wednesday is a day of fasting. In the sixth century, Christians who had committed grave faults were obliged to do public penance. On Ash Wednesday, they donned a hair shirt (which they wore for 40 days), and the local bishop blessed them and sprinkled them with ashes. Then, while others recited the Seven Penitential Psalms, the penitents were turned out of the holy place. They could not enter the church again until Maundy Thursday (the Thursday before Easter), when they received absolution.
Daily Calendar for Wednesday, February 22, 2023
Died
- Amerigo Vespucci (explorer) –
- Francisco I. Madero (Mexican President; was assassinated) –
- Ed Flanders (actor) –
- Jonas Savimbi (Angola’s rebel leader) –
- Chuck Jones (Warner Bros. animator, created Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck) –
- Dennis Johnson (basketball player) –
Born
- George Washington (1st U.S. president) –
- Rembrandt Peale (artist) –
- Edna St. Vincent Millay (poet) –
- Edward Moore "Teddy" Kennedy (politician) –
- George "Sparky" Anderson (baseball manager) –
- Steve Irwin (herpetologist and host of The Crocodile Hunter) –
- Rachel Dratch (actress) –
- Drew Barrymore (actress) –
Events
- Popcorn was first introduced to English colonists by Native Americans–
- Florida Purchase treaty signed–
- The F.W. Woolworth discount store chain started in Utica, New York–
- Ancient Egyptian obelisk that had been erected in Central Park was officially presented to New York City–
- A fist fight broke out on the Senate floor between Senator John McLaurin and Senator Ben Tillman–
- Calvin Coolidge delivered the first presidential radio broadcast speech from the White House–
- A 6.4-magnitude earthquake struck near Zarand in Iran–
- 10-pound 14-ounce ‘aweoweo caught, Penguin Bank, O’ahu, Hawaii–
- A magnitude-6.3 earthquake struck Christchurch, New Zealand–
- Babe Ruth’s 1923 World Series pocket watch sold for $717,000 at auction–
- Baseball bat that belonged to Shoeless Joe Jackson sold for $958,000 at auction–
Weather
- The Susquehanna River ice bridge at Havre de Grace, Maryland, began to break up after 40 days of use–
- 11 inches of snow fell in Blue Lick, Missouri–