Ash Wednesday

Ash Wednesday is the first day of Lent in Western Christianity, such as Anglicans, Lutherans, Methodists, Presbyterians, Roman Catholics and Baptists. It is a day of fasting, repentance, prayer and self-control. Ash Wednesday occurs 46 days before Easter (though Lent lasts for 40 days it does not include the six Sundays because Sundays are considered a day for worship and rest). Ash Wednesday got its name from the practice of blessing ashes made from palm branches blessed on the previous year’s Palm Sunday. Ashes are placed or sprinkled over the head, or marked on foreheads as a visible cross accompanied by the words ‘Repent and believe in the Gospel’ or ‘Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return’.