Feb. 18 is Ash Wednesday, the beginning of the 40 days and nights of Lent, which represent Jesus’ time in the desert resisting temptation.

Those who observe Lent will spend the next several Fridays whipping out fish recipes or attending a fish fry and abstaining from eating meat.

On Ash Wednesday, many Christians go to church for a service that emphasizes the start of a season of reflection, self-denial and repentance from sin.