What is the Meaning and Importance of Ash Wednesday?
You may have seen Christians, mostly Catholics, walking around with a smear of ash on their foreheads and wondered what it meant. The practice of Ash Wednesday is symbolic within the Christian church to recognize our frailty as humans. It also marks the beginning of the Lent season. This year Ash Wednesday falls on March 5, 2025.
Let’s look at the meaning of Ash Wednesday, why people wear ashes, and how Christians observe Lent.
What is Ash Wednesday?
Ash Wednesday marks the first day of Lent.In the Catholic observation of Ash Wednesday, a priest applies a smudge of ash on people’s foreheads in the shape of a cross. As it is applied, the phrase “remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return” is often spoken. The ash is meant to communicate grief and sorrow over sins and repentance through the death of Jesus Christ on the cross. While the observation of Ash Wednesday has historically been within the Catholic Church, several protestant denominations have begun to commemorate the day with similar services.
Ash Wednesday initiates the 40-day period of Lent, during which we reflect on Jesus’ 40-day fast and temptation in the desert. Preceding Ash Wednesday, “Shrove Tuesday” or “Fat Tuesday” serves as an occasion for indulgence and feasting, often marked by enjoying foods like pancakes. This celebration precedes our observance of fasting on Ash Wednesday and throughout the Lenten season.
What is the meaning of wearing ashes and where do they come from?
The ashes used on Ash Wednesday typically come from the burning of palm branches from the previous year’s Palm Sunday celebrations. After Palm Sunday, the palm branches are collected, dried, and burned to create the ashes used in the Ash Wednesday service. These ashes are then mixed with a small amount of water or oil to create a paste, which is applied to the foreheads of worshippers in the shape of a cross as a symbol of repentance and mortality.
The ashes are used to keep us in mind of our humble origin and of how the body of Adam, our forefather, was formed out of the dust of the earth; also to remind us of death, when our bodies will return to dust, and of the necessity of doing penance for our sins.
While the ashes remind us that we will die and return to the ground, if we believe in Jesus, we will be raised with Him in glorious new bodies.
