Ash Wednesday

Having the first day of the lunar new year coincide with Ash Wednesday created a bit of cognitive dissonance today. Do I celebrate Chinese New Year, or do I celebrate Ash Wednesday? I decided to do both. On the food end, it was easy. After the traditional rich feast shared with family last night, the Cantonese Chinese tradition is to eat simple vegetarian food on New Year's Day itself. So that actually went well with the tradition of fasting and spiritual preparation on Ash Wednesday.

My work day started out with a phone call from a woman who works in another division wishing me happy new year. She is also of Chinese descent. She also wanted me to post a new year message on our internal website. It will mean a lot to the few Asians working on our staff, she said. So I did the posting, and received a few more happy new year messages during the day.

After work, I went to Ash Wednesday service at church. My Christian background encompasses quite a bit of diversity--Catholic school education, evangelical church upbringing, then later Episcopalian and Lutheran musical education, and still later ecumenical youth group experience, and now a socially active progressive Baptist church experience. What a mixed bag! I end up celebrating pretty much all the important rituals from many, if not all of these traditions. I enjoy the Ash Wednesday litany for all its solumnity. Even though service tonight was very small--the pastor couple, two deacons, and two others--it was no less meaningful. It is sobering to begin Lent with the reminder that we came from dust and to dust we will go.