Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of the liturgical period of Lent. It consistently occurs six and a half weeks before Easter, marking the start of the Lenten season in preparation for Christ’s Resurrection on Easter Sunday.

Ash Wednesday originated in the 11th century. However, the practice of receiving ashes has even older origins—it traces back to the ancient Hebrew tradition of wearing sackcloth and sprinkling ashes on oneself as an expression of repentance.

The Bible doesn't specifically describe the initial day of Lent, yet numerous examples of this act of repentance exist in the Old Testament, like Job 16:15, ‘I have sewed sackcloth upon my skin, and have laid my strength in the dust,’ and in the New Testament, such as Luke 10:13, ‘Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the deeds of power done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago, sitting in sackcloth and ashes.’

In various religious practices, ashes represent the finitude of our human existence. Genesis 3:19 states, ‘By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread until you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; you are dust, and to dust you shall return.’

In the early Christian Church, public acts of penance for sinners included donning sackcloth and ashes. As the Church expanded and changed, this practice diminished. This longstanding practice — of acknowledging ourselves as sinners in quest of reconciliation with God — eventually evolved into what we currently refer to as Ash Wednesday, the initial day of Lent.

Ash Wednesday is not considered a Holy Day of Obligation for Roman Catholics. Still, the practice of receiving ashes is a widespread custom among Christians to mark the start of their Lenten journeys. The majority of Catholic parishes provide Ash Wednesday Mass, and in certain areas, one can receive ashes even if they do not attend Mass. The ashes used for the Ash Wednesday service are from burning the palm leaves from the previous year’s Palm Sunday.

It is common to have ashes placed on your forehead in the shape of the Cross. The priest will perform the Sign of the Cross and say one of the following:
“Remember that you are dust, and unto dust, you shall return.”
“Repent and believe in the Gospel.”

The ashes represent our mortality. They serve as a tangible reminder that our bodies will deteriorate, yet our souls will continue to exist in everlasting life.

Ash Wednesday is likewise a day of fasting. Fasting permits one complete meal and two lighter meals (which together do not make a full meal), with the expectation to avoid meat on Ash Wednesday.