- Ash Wednesday is Wednesday, March 5. It is the first day of Lent, a 40-day season of prayer, fasting and giving.
- On Ash Wednesday, priests place ash crosses on worshipers’ foreheads to indicate they belong to Jesus Christ and are mourning for their sins.
- Lent concludes on Thursday, April 17 this year.
Ash Wednesday is this week, kicking off Lent, Christianity’s 40-day season of prayer, fasting and giving in preparation to honor the resurrection of Jesus Christ on Easter Sunday.
Ash Wednesday tends to be recognizable for the ash crosses made on worshipers’ foreheads. The cross, placed on a worshiper’s forehead by a priest, indicates that a person belongs to Jesus Christ and is grieving and morning for their sins.
This year’s Ash Wednesday occurs as Pope Francis remains hospitalized at Rome’s Gemelli Hospital after he was admitted to the hospital on Feb. 14 for a respiratory illness. On Monday, the Vatican reported that Francis had suffered two attacks of “acute respiratory insufficiency,” and doctors performed two procedures on the pope to clear his air passages.
Here’s what to know about this year’s Ash Wednesday and Lent.
What is Lent?
Lent is a 40-day season of prayer, fasting and giving, held 40 days before Easter Sunday. The season offers Christians the time to prepare for Jesus’ Easter resurrection.
Lent has been celebrated by Christians all over the world for centuries. The 64th leader of the Catholic Church, Pope Gregory, set the first official period of Lent in 601 AD, according to the Museum of the Bible. At this time, Lent was 46 days, which allowed for 40 days of fasting − only one meal and no meat was allowed − with six Sundays counted as feast days.
Pope Gregory, according to the Museum of the Bible, was also the one to establish the tradition of marking the foreheads of worshipers with ashes in the shape of the cross on Ash Wednesday.
When does Lent begin?
Lent begins on Wednesday, March 5, also known as Ash Wednesday.
When does Lent end?
Lent ends on Thursday, April 17, also called Holy Thursday.
Why is Lent 40 days?
Lent is 40 days to represent the 40 days that Jesus spent fasting and praying in the desert before starting his own public ministry.
Where do the ashes smudged on worshipers’ foreheads come from?
The ashes placed in the sign of a cross on worshipers’ foreheads on Ash Wednesday are supposed to be made from last year’s Palm Sunday palm branches, according to the Catholic News Agency. Last year’s Palm Sunday was on March 24 − the Sunday before Easter.
The palm branches are burned into a fine powder and in the United States, mixed with holy water or oil to create a light paste, according to the Catholic News Agency. In other parts of the world, dry ashes are sprinkled on the forehead, rather than made into a paste.
Why does Lent involve fasting?
Fasting during Lent represents the fasting Jesus did while in the desert.
“Abstinence is a form of penance. Penance expresses sorrow and contrition for our wrongdoing, indicates our intention to turn away from sin and turn back to God,” the Archdiocese of Saint Paul & Minneapolis shared on its website.
Why do worshipers abstain from eating meat on Fridays during Lent?
During Lent, some worshipers abstain from eating flesh meat on Ash Wednesday, Good Friday and each Friday.
Worshipers abstain from meat on Fridays during Lent to honor Jesus sacrificing his flesh on Good Friday, according to the Archdiocese of Saint Paul & Minneapolis. Flesh meat includes beef, pork, chicken and turkey. Fish are not considered flesh meat.
Non-flesh products, like milk, cheese, butter and eggs, are not prohibited during Lent.
Contributing: Dwight Adams and Aaron A. Bedoya, El Paso Times, John Bacon and Marina Pitofsky, USA TODAY and Joshua McElwee, Reuters
Greta Cross is a national trending reporter at USA TODAY. Follow her on X and Instagram @gretalcross. Story idea? Email her at [email protected].
