Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - Valentine's Day is here and interestingly, so is Ash Wednesday, a Christian Holy day that marks the start of Lent and the 40-day countdown to Easter.
"Lent is that season of preparation for Easter," explains Fr. Paul Seil with Newman's Center at the University at Buffalo. "40 days of prayer, almsgiving, and fasting. When we begin Lent, it's with the solemn celebration on Ash Wednesday and we take our ashes from previous years palms, we burn the palms and we impose them on people's heads as a sign of penitence as a kind of an outward sign symbolizing the penance and the conversion that's supposed to occur within each one of us."
Typically, most Catholics recognize the holiday by attending mass to receive ashes as well as abstaining from eating warm-blooded meats.
This in turn presents an interesting predicament for those who want to celebrate Valentine's Day as most typically do but also observe the Holy day.
"Ash Wednesday for the devout really kind of overrides Valentine's Day, at least this year. Thankfully, it doesn't happen very often. But you certainly could a couple could fast together. I mean, fasting in the Catholic church means that one could have two small sustaining meals and one larger regular meal in a day. So it's not the strict stance that we sometimes think of," Fr. Siel tells WBEN.
Fr. Seil recommends moving Valentine's Day to another day.
"Probably the best thing someone could do would be to defer the big fancy dinner or the going out for a different day. Some may have done it yesterday or the day before Fat Tuesday but it could be on Thursday. But try to keep this day as a symbol of penitence," said Fr. Seil.
Meanwhile, local restaurants are prepped for those who made reservations on the day.
Dave Shutte, owner of several local restaurants which include Oliver's on Delaware Avenue as well as Britesmith Brewing and Creekview in Williamsville says there will be many special seafood options at all of his establishments for Wednesday night.
"We've gone a little heavier than normal on some of our fish specials, especially at Oliver's. Creekview somewhat the same, we do sell a lot of haddock, and we also sell a lot of salmon and snapper. So we're very conscious of that and we're trying to make it an elevated, beautiful experience for Valentine's Day."
Shutte also notes that because Valentine's Day is on a weekday and some people are choosing to celebrate on different days of the week, it has been a nice boost in business to the restaurants.
"This past weekend, we were very busy and and already tonight, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, the rest of this week is really strong. So I think you know people are celebrating not just on Valentine's Day but throughout the week, which is great for industry," said Shutte on Tuesday.
As Father Seil reminded us, it's not common for Ash Wednesday to fall on Valentine's Day. The last time we celebrated both holidays at once was in 2018, and before that, 1945. However, the next time these holidays will coincide again will be in just five years, in 2029.