Ash Wednesday : The beginning of Lent
What is the significance of Ash Wednesday?
Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of Lent, a forty-day period of fasting, prayer and penance observed by many Christian denominations around the world. Celebrated on the Wednesday following Shrove Tuesday, this is a day of profound spiritual significance for many of the faithful.
The tradition of Ash Wednesday goes back many centuries in the history of Christianity. It takes its name from the ritual of the imposition of ashes on the foreheads of the faithful, symbolising repentance and death to self. The ashes are often made by burning the branches blessed on Palm Sunday of the previous year.
