Ash Wednesday, a day of fasting, is the first day of Lent in Western Christianity. It occurs 46 days (40 fasting days, if the six Sundays, which are not days of fast, are excluded) before Easter and can fall as early as February 4 or as late as March 10. Ash Wednesday is observed by many Western Christians
Why do we put ash on our for head?
Ash Wednesday derives its name from the practice of blessing ashes made from palm branches blessed on the previous year’s Palm Sunday, and placing them on the heads of participants to the accompaniment of the words “Repent, and believe in the Gospel”
What is the significance of the ashes on the forehead on Ash Wednesday?
A: Wednesday is Ash Wednesday, the day many Christians mark as the first day of Lent, the time of reflection and penitence leading up to Easter Sunday. … As they “impose” or “dispense” the ashes, the pastor or priest reminds each Christian of Genesis 3:19: “For dust you are and to dust you shall return.”
First, you can not eat meat on Ash Wednesday,
Why do crosses get drawn on peoples’ foreheads on Ash Wednesday?
Traditionally, ash is used to represent grief, so devout Christians will wear the cross on their head for the entire day to show their sorrow for Jesus’ crucifixion.
They also represent repentance and show that people have repented of their sins so that they can be prepared for a ‘Holy death’, like Jesus.
As priests draw the crosses on to people’s foreheads, they say: “Repent, and believe in the Gospel”.
