Ash Wednesday

noun

Ash Wednesday

the first day of Lent, named from the practice of Christians of placing ashes on their heads as a sign of penitence

Ash Wednesday

The seventh Wednesday before Easter ; the first day of Lent for most Christians (see also Christian ); the day after “Fat Tuesday,” or Mardi Gras . It is frequently observed as a day of fasting and repentance for sin. In some churches , ashes are placed on the foreheads of worshipers on Ash Wednesday as a reminder of their mortality. The words of God to Adam in the Bible (see also Bible ) are often used in the ceremony: “ Dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return .”

First recorded in 1250–1300

The period at which the fast of Ash-Wednesday was instituted is uncertain; but it probably dates from the eighth century at least.

Who has not sometimes entered a convent church on leaving a ball-room,—in the early morning hours of Ash-Wednesday, for instance?

By next Ash Wednesday, I will have learned how to fast without getting sick!

He promptly professed to be converted and was baptized on Ash-Wednesday 1677.

Lent, a time of fasting; the time from Ash-Wednesday to Easter.

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