So what about all this PUBLICLY wearing ashes, fasting by certain foods or wearing of certain colors?
When you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites. They neglect their appearance, so that they may appear to others to be fasting. Amen, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, so that you may not appear to be fasting, except to your Father who is hidden. And your Father who sees what is hidden will repay you./Making the word of God of none effect through your tradition, which ye have delivered:
Matthew 6:16–18/7:13
concept remains the same: .... confession, fasting, and almsgiving .... Lent traditionally lasts forty days, modeled after Christ's forty day fast in the desert, and ends on Good Friday. In the Western Church, Lent officially begins with a reminder of our mortality on Ash Wednesday (this year, falling on March 1st)....the official color for Lent is purple.
....length of the Lenten fast was established in the 4th century as 46 days (40 days, not counting Sundays). During Lent, participants eat sparingly or give up a particular food or habit. It’s not uncommon for people to give up smoking during Lent, or to swear off watching television or eating candy or telling lies. It’s six weeks of self-discipline.
Christian churches hold special services at which worshippers are blessed on the forehead with a cross of ashes as a symbol of death and penance.
Sometimes, the mark is left on the forehead to show that they carry the sign of the cross into the world. At other services, the ashes are washed off as a sign that the worshipper has been cleansed of their sins.
The ashes used at services on Ash Wednesday are made by burning palm crosses that were blessed the previous year.
....observed in the Anglican, Eastern Orthodox, Lutheran, Methodist, and Roman Catholic Churches. Some Anabaptist and evangelical churches also observe the Lenten season.
Ash Wednesday is the first day of Lent in the Roman Rite and in the traditions of most mainline Reformed and Protestant traditions.
The Sundays in Lent carry Latin names in German Lutheranism, derived from the beginning of the Sunday's introit. The first is called Invocabit, the second Reminiscere, the third Oculi, the fourth Laetare, the fifth Judica, the sixth Palm Sunday.
Thursday of Holy Week is known as Maundy Thursday or Holy Thursday, and is a day Christians commemorate the Last Supper. On the fourth Sunday in Lent, rose-colored (pink) vestments may be worn in lieu of violet.
Pope Gregory the Great (590–604) decided that fasting would start on Ash Wednesday. The whole Carnival event was set before the fasting, to set a clear division between the pagan and the Christian custom.
It's not mentioned in the Bible. None of the apostles observed it. Nowhere are Christians commanded to keep it. Like so many other non-biblical “Christian” customs, it has pagan roots.
main events typically occur during February or early March, during the period historically known as Shrovetide (or Pre-Lent/Mardi Gras). Carnival typically involves a public celebration and/or parade combining some elements of a circus, masks, and a public street party.
Traditionally, the feast also was a time to indulge sexual desires, which were supposed to be suppressed during the following fasting. Before Lent began, all rich food and drink were consumed in what became a giant celebration that involved the whole community, and is thought to be the origin of Carnival."
Crosswalk/Lent2017/Wikipedia
When you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites. They neglect their appearance, so that they may appear to others to be fasting. Amen, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, so that you may not appear to be fasting, except to your Father who is hidden. And your Father who sees what is hidden will repay you./Making the word of God of none effect through your tradition, which ye have delivered:
Matthew 6:16–18/7:13
LENT-ASH WEDNESDAY
"So where does Lent come from, and how do we "do" Lent? The Lenten season developed as part of the historical Christian calendar and is typically celebrated by Catholics and some mainline Protestant churches that follow a liturgical calendar. Although its format has varied ...the basic ....length of the Lenten fast was established in the 4th century as 46 days (40 days, not counting Sundays). During Lent, participants eat sparingly or give up a particular food or habit. It’s not uncommon for people to give up smoking during Lent, or to swear off watching television or eating candy or telling lies. It’s six weeks of self-discipline.
Christian churches hold special services at which worshippers are blessed on the forehead with a cross of ashes as a symbol of death and penance.
Sometimes, the mark is left on the forehead to show that they carry the sign of the cross into the world. At other services, the ashes are washed off as a sign that the worshipper has been cleansed of their sins.
....observed in the Anglican, Eastern Orthodox, Lutheran, Methodist, and Roman Catholic Churches. Some Anabaptist and evangelical churches also observe the Lenten season.
Ash Wednesday is the first day of Lent in the Roman Rite and in the traditions of most mainline Reformed and Protestant traditions.
The Sundays in Lent carry Latin names in German Lutheranism, derived from the beginning of the Sunday's introit. The first is called Invocabit, the second Reminiscere, the third Oculi, the fourth Laetare, the fifth Judica, the sixth Palm Sunday.
Thursday of Holy Week is known as Maundy Thursday or Holy Thursday, and is a day Christians commemorate the Last Supper. On the fourth Sunday in Lent, rose-colored (pink) vestments may be worn in lieu of violet.
Pope Gregory the Great (590–604) decided that fasting would start on Ash Wednesday. The whole Carnival event was set before the fasting, to set a clear division between the pagan and the Christian custom.
It's not mentioned in the Bible. None of the apostles observed it. Nowhere are Christians commanded to keep it. Like so many other non-biblical “Christian” customs, it has pagan roots.
CARNIVAL-MARDI GRAS
Carnival is a Western Christian festive season that occurs before the liturgical season of Lent. The 
Traditionally, the feast also was a time to indulge sexual desires, which were supposed to be suppressed during the following fasting. Before Lent began, all rich food and drink were consumed in what became a giant celebration that involved the whole community, and is thought to be the origin of Carnival."
Crosswalk/Lent2017/Wikipedia
