With such an early Easter this year, we no sooner finish the Christmas season at the start of this month, with the Feast of Candlemas on the 2nd, than we begin the season of Lent on Ash Wednesday, the 6th. Lent, of course, is the season of preparation for Easter, but have you ever wondered where its name comes from?
As you know, the Chinese name their years after an animal. We're just finishing the Year of the Pig, and from February will be in the Year of the Rat. This set me thinking: if we did the same in our church and parish, what animal would we be looking forward to in 2008?
My immediate thought was that this year will be the Year of the Ant.
By the time you read this, I suspect St George's Bazaar will be a distant memory, merging into many other events. So, a reminder. It all started on the Friday night, when a small team of people cleared all of the chairs, set up the tables, shifted boxes, stuck tickets on bottles, put up decorations and generally prepared for the next day. Some of us then went home and began cooking.
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The Church of England Parish of Hale with Badshot Lea comprises the three churches of St George, St John and St Mark and is situated in the county of Surrey in the South of England.