What a full week!

(Feb. 10, 2013)  Today marks the Chinese New Year; Tuesday is Mardi Gras, the day of feasting before the start of Christians' penitential season of Lent on Ash Wednesday; then Thursday is Valentine's Day for lovers. However, none of these days are official national holidays requiring close of business or lack of service.

According to the Chinese calendar, in 2013, Saturday, Feb. 9, was the last day of the Year of the Dragon, while Sunday ushers in the Year of the Water Snake. The dates change each year thanks to the specifics of the calendar, which is based on solar/lunar happenings – though most Chinese people use the Gregorian, or western calendar, for daily life, the traditional calendar is still employed for major holidays like Chinese New Year, also known as Lunar New Year.

Celebrated by more than a billion and a half people around the world, the Year of the Snake marks the halfway point through the 12 Chinese astrological signs. The symbolic animal is believed to impart certain characteristics on those born during that year, and people born during previous snake years (like 1917, 1929, 1941, 1953, 1965, 1977, 1989 and 2001 – but bearing in mind lunar calendar dates) can expect good fortune during 2013.

The specific attributes of "snakes" aren't all that different from how they're perceived in Western culture: careful and stealthy, planning out details before they make moves, with a preference for working alone. And then, of course, there's their charismatic side, which easily seduces others to do their will.

But as for the celebrations, expect to see the traditional dragon dancing, lighting of fireworks and yes, snake motifs in Chinatowns and Chinese communities. And if you happen to be lucky enough to be part of these celebrations? Don't forget to wish people "Gung hay fat choy," or "Sun leen fai lok," two Cantonese phrases hoping for prosperity for the new year.

Mardi Gras, French for Fat Tuesday, is another celebration day. Also known as Shrove Tuesday, it is the last day of Carnival feasting before the 40 days of Lent begin on Ash Wednesday. New Orleans is known for its days-long Mardi Gras festivities featuring a colorful concluding parade of costumed revelers.

In days of old, Shrove Tuesday was the day all households were to use up all milk, eggs and fat to prepare for the strict fasting of Lent in preparation for Easter Sunday. These ingredients were made into pancakes, a meal which came to symbolize preparation for the discipline of Lent, from the English tradition. “Shrove” comes from the verb “to shrive” (to confess and receive absolution) prior to the start of the Lenten season. Another name for the days before Lent is Carnival which means "farewell to meat."

Ash Wednesday, in the calendar of Western Christianity, is the first day of Lent and occurs 46 days before Easter, the celebration of Christ's Resurrection. It is a movable feast, falling on a different date each year because it is dependent on the date of Easter, this year on March 31. It can occur as early as Feb. 4 or as late as March 10.

Christians will start their observance of Lent this year on Wednesday, Feb. 13. Lent will continue until Holy Saturday, March 30. “Lent” comes from the Anglo-Saxon word "lencton" – meaning “spring” or “lengthening” from the time of year when the days grow longer. The season covers 40 days (excluding Sundays which are little feasts of the Resurrection).  Some believe that the word “Lent” may derive from the Latin "lentare," which means “to bend.” This understanding reinforces a sense of Lent as a time of preparation for personal and collective transformation.

In the early church, Lent was the time of preparation for the Easter, Pascha (Christian Passover) baptism of converts to the faith. Persons were to receive the sacrament of “new birth” following a period of fasting, penitence and preparation. Just as the children of Israel had been delivered from the bondage of Egyptian slavery, Christians are delivered from the bondage of sin. On Ash Wednesday, many Christians have ashes (prepared from the previous year’s palms) put on their foreheads as a sign of repentance and mortality.

St. Valentine's Day, commonly known as Valentine's Day, is observed on Feb. 14 each year. It is celebrated in many countries around the world, although it remains a working day in most of them. The feast began as a liturgical celebration of one or more early Christian saints named Valentinus. The most popular story associated with St. Valentine was that he was imprisoned for performing weddings for soldiers who were forbidden to marry and for ministering to Christians, who were persecuted under the Roman Empire; during his imprisonment, he is said to have healed the daughter of his jailer Asterius. Legend states that before his execution he wrote "from your Valentine" as a farewell to her.

Today, Valentine's Day is associated with romantic love following the lead of Geoffrey Chaucer in the High Middle Ages, when the tradition of courtly love flourished. Lovers exchange valentines, usually greeting cards or notes of love, as well as sweets and other presents.

For more information on these special dates and others, check Recorder Community Newspapers and their blogs right here online at newjerseyhills.com. Anyone interested in becoming a Recorder blogger is invited to call me at (908) 832-7420 or e-mail panderson@recordernewspapers.com.