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World's Faithful Start Lenten Season with Prayers, Pancakes, Politics

Devotees celebrate, then buckle down for 40 days.

 
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Indian Christians offer prayers during a mass in observance of Ash Wednesday at a Catholic church in Hyderabad, India, Wednesday, Feb. 22, 2012. Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of Lent, a time when Christians prepare for Easter through acts of penitence and prayer. AP
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Carnival fools celebrate in the streets of Duesseldorf during the traditional Rose Monday parade on Feb. 20. Carnival goers mainly in the Rhine region traditionally celebrate the highlight procession on Rosenmontag (Rose Monday). The season ends with Ash Wednesday on Feb. 22. Credit Getty Images
A member of Mohacs Busok, Mask-people from Mohacs town, stands next to a fire in the main square of Mohacs on Feb. 21 during the last day of their six-day carnival masquerade. The Busojaras (Hungarian, meaning 'Buso-walking') is an annual celebration of the Sokci (Croatians) living in the town of Mohacs, held at the end of the Carnival season and ending the day before Ash Wednesday. The celebration features Busos and includes folk music, masquerading, parades and dancing. Credit Getty Images
Boys wearing traditional costumes take part in the carnival in the village Strani, 100km southeast of Brno on Feb. 21. Strani is the last village in Moravia, where carnival parade go by tradition on Tuesday before Ash Wednesday. Credit Getty Images
A competitor looses control of his pancake while racing during the Shrove Tuesday, or Mardi Gras, tradition at the National Cathedral Feb. 21 in Washington, DC. Pancake racers use frying pans to flip a cake three times while running about 30 meters against fellow competitors. Shrove Tuesday is the day preceding Ash Wednesday, the first day of the Christian season of Lent. Credit Getty Images
A visitor of the traditional Ash Wednesday rally of the German Christian Social Union (CSU) holds up a beer stein in Passau, southern Germany, on Feb. 22. The political rallies on Ash Wednesday are a welcomed opportunity to bash political opponents. Credit Getty Images
Indian Christians offer prayers during a mass in observance of Ash Wednesday at a Catholic church in Hyderabad, India, Wednesday, Feb. 22, 2012. Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of Lent, a time when Christians prepare for Easter through acts of penitence and prayer. Credit AP
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Ash Wednesday is the ceremonial beginning of Lent, a season of abstinence and deprivation Christians observe for the 40 days leading up to Holy Week and Easter.

Related Topics: Ash Wednesday, Celebrations, and Lent

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