Today we mark the fiftieth day until Easter, that most solemn Festival of the Christian year. To the English this time came to be known as Shrovetide (from the Old English "shriven", to be assigned a penance) as the three days leading up to Ash Wednesday are an appropriate period for making a good Confession in order to be at peace with God and neighbor as we enter into the great liturgical season of fasting, almsgiving and prayer that is Lent.