Remember that thou art dust, and to dust thou shalt return. — Genesis 3:19
Today is Ash Wednesday. It is the first day of Lent and occurs 46 days (40 days not counting Sundays) before Easter.
On Ash Wednesday ash crosses are placed on the forehead.
A day of repentance.
En la misa en Nuestra Señora de la Peña de Francia en la Plaza de Iglesia en Puerto de la Cruz en Tenerife, the ash from Quema de Palmitos, when the palm leaves were burned on Palm Sunday, was used.
The priest daubed on each forehead the ash in the shape of a cross, though when I looked it looked liked he had simply daubed the ash with his thumb, but watching carefully, I saw he did make the sign of the cross.
Later, I was asked had I had an accident, it was thought I had fallen and hit my head!
That evening in Puerto de la Cruz was the Funeral of the Sardine. A sardine is paraded through the town accompanied by mourners dressed in black, their faces daubed white and carrying a small posy of flowers. Much wailing.
The sardine burned on a funeral pyre in the harbour.
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