Ash Wednesday 2016: What Is It? Why Do Christians Celebrate It? And What Does Soccer Have To Do With It? [VIDEO]

February 10 marks the first day of Lent, otherwise known as Ash Wednesday. The date marks the first day of fasting, repentance, prayer and self reflection as a period of self-restraint and abstention begins for many Christians over the next 46 days as it leads up to Easter.

As part of Ash Wednesday and the period of Lent, Christians choose to give up luxury items, food, or unhealthy habits. You won’t be surprised to find many people give up goods such as red meat, dairy and sweets during this period or abstaining from habits such as smoking, watching television, or drinking.

Ash Wednesday falls on a different day each year, but is customarily celebrated 46 days before Easter. This is in tribute to the full 40 days that Jesus spent fasting in the desert before he was found and blessed by John the Baptist.

The day is celebrated by church services in which clergy members use ashes that have been burned at the previous year’s Palm Sunday to mix with holy water. They then use the mixture to mark a cross on the worshipper’s forehead as a sign of repentance. A passage from Genesis 3:19 is then typical said, “For dust you are and to dust you shall return.”

Another celebration that occurs on Ash Wednesday is the most absurd and crazy soccer game you’ll ever see. In the small town of Ashbourne, England, there is a two day event that starts on the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday and ends the following day. The match is called the Royal Shrovetide Football match, and it has been taking place for nearly 300 years.

The annual tradition consists of a soccer free-for-all of sorts. Instead of two teams with 11 members, the two teams called the “Down’ards” and the “Up’ards” consists of hundreds of people and the pitch is over 3 miles in length. The two sides spend the next 48 hours trying to score the ball into the opposing goal posts. The goals however are not like your customary soccer goals, they are stone structures located near a river.

The game is also known as “hugball” and it doesn’t require a lot of actual soccer skill or rules. The ball can be transported in any way possible so long as it is not placed inside a vehicle. The game originated on Ash Wednesday in 1667 and has grown in multitude over the years. After the first 24-hour cycle, the Up’ards lead 1-0. Check out the video below of last year’s Shrovetide game and start a “hugball” game of your own.