Today is Ash Wednesday which marks the first day of Lent, a 40-day period of prayer and fasting that ends on Easter Sunday. For those of you not familiar with this custom, I thought I’d write a short (well, short for me!) post on what this all means. Especially if you see people walking around with a thumbprint of ashes on the forehead and wonder what’s going on. 🙂
Ash Wednesday is observed by many Western Christian denominations, including Roman Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran, and some Protestant churches. The practice of observing this day dates back to at least the 8th century. Although many historians suspect it dates back even earlier. In the early Christian church, public penitents would begin their penance on this day by wearing sackcloth and being sprinkled with ashes as a symbol of their repentance. Over time, this ritual became more widely adopted as a way for all Christians to recognize their sinfulness and mortality.
The ashes used on Ash Wednesday are traditionally made by burning the palm branches from the previous year’s Palm Sunday. These ashes are then blessed by a priest and used to mark the sign of the cross on the foreheads of the faithful. The ashes represent repentance and come from bible stories where people cover themselves in ashes as an outward sign of their sorrow for sin. For example, in the Book of Jonah, the people of Nineveh repented in sackcloth and ashes (Jonah 3:6). Ashes also remind Christians of their mortality, with the words often spoken as they are applied: “Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return” (Genesis 3:19). This phrase reminds believers of their eventual death and their dependence on God’s mercy and grace.
Ash Wednesday is intended to be a time of self-reflection, humility, and preparation for the Lenten season. By receiving ashes, Christians are reminded of the need for inner transformation, the importance of repentance, and the hope for spiritual renewal in preparation for the celebration of Christ’s resurrection on Easter Sunday. Whether or not you participate, I hope you have a wonderful early Spring and enjoy these last days of winter.
