Worshipers pack the National Shrine of the Little Flower Church in Royal Oak for Ash Wednesday PHOTO: TAAN/NATASHA DADO

DETROIT – The season of preparation for Easter is underway for many Christian denominations. This week, Christians worldwide began observing Lent, including the large concentration of Arab Christians in metro Detroit. According to sources, Michigan is home to 100,000 Lebanese Maronite Catholics, and even more Iraqi Christians.

Wednesday, or “Ash Wednesday,” marked the first day of Lent for most Christians.

Ash Wednesday acquired its name from the ritual practice of placing ashes on the foreheads of devotees as a sign of mourning and repentance to God. It also serves as a reminder and celebration of human morality.

A tradition of the holiday is to burn the palm fronds from the previous year’s Palm Sunday, producing ashes. The priest blesses the ashes and sprinkles them with holy water, and he then makes the sign of the cross on the forehead.

Lent is observed for 40 days before Easter, except Sundays, and is a commitment to fasting, prayer and almsgiving. It is an expression of remorse for sins and a gain of spiritual insight. The time frame draws from the 40 days Jesus fasted in the desert, according to the New Testament.

The three Abrahamic faiths, Islam, Judaism and Christianity all share a sacred time in which reflection, prayer, and fast is observed. For Muslims, the holy period is known as Ramadan, and in Judaism followers celebrate Yom Kippur.