What Does Mardi Gras and Lent Have In Common?

Did you ever notice the pattern of Mardi Gras, Ash Wednesday, Lent and Easter?

After Fat Tuesday, Ash Wednesday is ALWAYS the next day, which is the first day of Lent. Well, Lent occurs 46 days before Easter.

How is the date for Easter is determined?  Easter falls on the first Sunday after the first full moon that occurs on or after March 21.

Mardi Gras, Ash Wednesday and Lent will always fall on different dates each year because it is dependent on the date of Easter.

Ash Wednesday can occur as early as February 4 or as late as March 10.

The following are the dates of the next 10 Mardi Gras celebrations:

• 2017 - Feb. 28
• 2018 - Feb. 13
• 2019 - March 5
• 2020 - Feb. 25
• 2021 - Feb. 16
• 2022 - March 1
• 2023 - Feb. 21
• 2024 - Feb. 13
• 2025 - March 4
• 2026 - Feb. 17
• 2027 - Feb. 9

Which means, Ash Wednesday starts the day after which will also kick off Lent. To read more on this story, click here