Ash Wednesday (redirected from Imposition of ashes)

Ash Wednesday, in the Western Church, the first day of Lent, being the seventh Wednesday before Easter. On this day ashes are placed on the foreheads of the faithful to remind them of death, of the sorrow they should feel for their sins, and of the necessity of changing their lives. The practice, which dates from the early Middle Ages, is common among Roman Catholics, Anglicans and Episcopalians, and many Lutherans; it was also adopted by some Methodists and Presbyterians in the 1990s.

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Ash Wednesday

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

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Ash Wednesday

Between February 4 and March 10

The first day of Lent in the West. For 14 centuries the season of Lent has been a time for self-examination and penitence in preparation for Easter. The name comes from the Saxon lengten-tide, referring to the lengthening of the days and the coming of spring. This 40-day period of abstinence recalls the fasts of Moses, Elijah, and Jesus, all of which—according to scripture—lasted 40 days. It was originally begun in the Western Church on a Sunday. But since Sundays were feast days, in the latter part of the sixth century Pope Gregory I moved the beginning of Lent ahead four days.
Gregory is also credited with having introduced the ceremony that gives this day its name. When public penitents came to the church for forgiveness, the priest would take some ash (made by burning the palms used on Palm Sunday of the previous year) and mark their foreheads with the sign of the cross as a reminder that they were but ashes and dust. Eventually the practice was extended to include all who wished to receive ashes.
In the East, ashes are not used, and Lent begins on the Monday before Ash Wednesday.
On Ash Wednesday in Iceland, children try to hook small bags of ashes or stones to the back of people's clothing.
See also Shrove Tuesday

CONTACTS:
CRI/Voice Institute
4801 N.W. 62nd St.
Oklahoma City, OK 73122
801-497-0946
www.crivoice.org

SOURCES:
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BkDays-1864, vol. I, p. 240
BkFest-1937, p. 299
DaysCustFaith-1957, p. 64
DictFolkMyth-1984, pp. 82, 535
EncyEaster-2002, p. 19
FestWestEur-1958, p. 194
FolkAmerHol-1999, p. 106
FolkWrldHol-1999, p. 151
HolSymbols-2009, p. 50
RelHolCal-2004, p. 91
SaintFestCh-1904, p. 115