Ash Wednesday Facts & Worksheets

Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of the season of Lent and is one of the most well-known and significant holy days on the Christian calendar. Observed primarily by Catholics and many other Christians, it’s a time of repentance, contemplation, and fasting in preparation for Easter Sunday, when Christ will rise from the dead and bring redemption. 

See the fact file below for more information on Ash Wednesday, or you can download our 25-page Ash Wednesday worksheet pack to utilize within the classroom or home environment.

Key Facts & Information

ORIGIN

• Ash Wednesday has pagan origins and was incorporated into Catholic Church doctrine during the Council of Nicaea in 325 BC.
• The council also decided that Lent should be observed during a 40-day fasting period. At the time, Roman Emperor Constantine wanted to peacefully bring Christians and pagan people together under the Roman Empire.
• The commencement date of Lent was still debated even after the Nicaean Council.
• The start of Lent was initially set for the fourth Sunday of the year, but Pope Gregory shifted it to Ash Wednesday, 46 days before Easter.
• This modification made it possible to extend Lent by six Sundays for 46 days of fasting and feasting.
• Pope Gregory also started applying ashes in the sign of the cross to the foreheads of parishioners.

OBSERVING AND NON-OBSERVING DENOMINATIONS

• Many denominations of Western Christianity observe Ash Wednesday. These denominations include the Roman Rite Roman Catholics and some Protestants such as Lutherans, Anglicans, Reformed churches, Baptists, Methodists, the Evangelical Covenant Church, and Mennonites. 
• Ash Wednesday is also observed by the Moravian Church, the Metropolitan Community Churches, and the churches in the United Protestant tradition, such as the Church of North India and the United Church of Canada. The practice was acknowledged by certain Independent Catholics and by the Community of Christ.
• The Eastern Orthodox Church generally does not observe Ash Wednesday; instead, the Orthodox Great Lent begins on Clean Monday. However, a small number of Orthodox Christians follow the Western Rite.
• The Eastern Orthodox Church observes Ash Wednesday, often on a different day than the previously mentioned denominations, because its date is determined by the Orthodox calculation of Pascha, which can be up to a month later than the Western observance of Easter.
• The Reformed regulative principle of worship has historically prevented Reformed churches from observing Ash Wednesday or Lent in general. Nonetheless, some Reformed churches observe Lent today, albeit voluntarily.

FASTING AND ABSTINENCE

• Ash Wednesday is observed by fasting, abstaining from meat (per canon law 1252, starting at age 14), and confessing one’s sins in the Roman Catholic Church. 
• During Ash Wednesday and Good Friday, Roman Catholics between 18 and 59 (whose health allows them to fast) are permitted to consume one full meal and two smaller meals that, when taken together, should not exceed the entire meal. 
• Some Catholics choose to fast entirely or take only on bread and water until dusk, in addition to the Church’s basic requirements. The days of no consumption of meat are also Wednesday and Good Friday.
• As was customary for the Church, some Roman Catholics continued to fast throughout Lent, ending only after the Easter Vigil.
• The day of fasting and abstinence is delayed when the Ambrosian Rite is practiced until the first Friday of the Ambrosian Lent, nine days later.
• Several Lutheran parishes teach congregants to fast on Ash Wednesday, with some worshipers opting to fast throughout Lent, particularly on Good Friday. “A Handbook for the Discipline of Lent,” published by one Lutheran congregation, advises believers to “fast with only one basic meal during the day, usually without meat, on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday.”
• While Fridays are also designated days of abstinence in the 1662 Book of Common Prayer, the entire forty days of Lent are days of fasting in the Church of England and much of the Worldwide Anglican Communion. 
• Saint Augustine’s Prayer Book defines abstinence as “refraining from flesh meat on all Fridays of the Church Year, except those during Christmastide” and fasting as “generally implying no more than a light breakfast, one full meal, and one-half supper, for the forty days of Lent.”
• Other rituals are occasionally added to or taken in place of others in some low church traditions as additional means to represent the day’s confession and penitence. For instance, in one typical variation, the congregation is given little cards on which members are asked to write a sin they desire to confess. These tiny cards are brought forward and burned at the altar table.

REGIONAL CUSTOMS

• As required by the Church of England (Anglican Church), theaters did not perform costumed performances on Ash Wednesday during the Victorian era, instead offering other forms of entertainment. Children in Iceland dress up, perform songs, and hang little bags of ashes on the back of some unsuspecting individual.

THE ASHES

• The ashes should come from palm branches blessed at the Palm Sunday service the year before, christened with Holy Water, and scented by incense, according to the Catholic and Methodist churches. At the same time, a Church of England publication states they “may be made” from previously burned palm crosses.
• These sources do not mention adding anything to the ashes other than the holy water sprinkled on them during the Catholic rite to bless them.
• According to an Anglican website, the ashes can be fixed by combining them with a tiny amount of holy water or olive oil. The ashes symbolize repentance and penance as a reminder that God is merciful and sympathetic to those who come before Him in modesty. During the Lenten season, it is essential to seek the compassion of God, and the Church encourages us to do so through thought, prayer, and penance.
• On Ash Wednesday, Christians have ashes ceremonially sprinkled over their heads or, more frequently in English-speaking nations, a visible cross is marked on their foreheads. It is customary to say, “Memento, homo, quia pulvis es, et in pulverem reverteris,” along with this gesture (“Remember, man, that thou art dust, and to dust thou shalt return.”).
• Pope Gregory I the Great is credited with starting this tradition, which is likely untrue because Ash Wednesday was not observed during his lifetime. The ancient formula, based on the words said to Adam and Eve after they sinned, subtly reminds worshippers of their mortality and depravity, as well as the urgency of their need to turn from their sins.
• The alternative formula was introduced and given first place in the 1969 revision of the Roman Rite and translated as “Remember that you are dust, and to dust, you shall return.” 
• Additionally, whether at a church or somewhere else, persons who attend such Catholic rituals usually bring home sanctified ashes to spread on the heads of other family members; it is advised to have envelopes ready to enable this process. The ashes are then scattered with little to no ceremony at home.
• Many Christians opt to leave a mark on their forehead all day when placing ashes on their heads by making the sign of the cross. The ashes may be removed immediately after receiving them, and the churches have not made this a requirement. 
• However, some Christian authorities, including Catholic bishop Kieran Conry and Lutheran pastor Richard P. Bucher, advise leaving the ashes on the forehead for the rest of the day as a declaration of one’s Christian faith. 
• As an expression of their right to practice their religion freely, Christians are encouraged to wear their ashes all day long by Methodist clergyman and Red-Letter Christian movement pioneer Morgan Guyton.

BIBLICAL SIGNIFICANCE OF ASHES

• Ancient cultures used ashes as a way to communicate mourning. Tamar “sprinkled ashes on her head, tore her robe, and with her face buried in her hands went away wailing.” After being sexually assaulted by her half-brother (2 Samuel 13:19). The gesture was also used to convey regret for transgressions and errors.
• Ashes may represent death and return to the dust of the old, sinful self. In Job 42:5–6, Job declares to God: I have heard about you through my ear, but now my eye is seeing thee. 
• Wherefore I loathe myself, and repent in dust and ashes.” O daughter of my people, throw on sackcloth, roll in the ashes,” the prophet Jeremiah exhorts (Jer 6:26). 
•  Daniel, a prophet, recounted turning to the Lord God and prayerfully pleading with him while fasting and wearing sackcloth and ashes (Daniel 9:3). Before the time of the New Testament, a group of rebels known as the Maccabees fought for Jewish freedom and used ashes to prepare for battle.
• “That day they fasted and put on sackcloth; they sprinkled ashes on their heads and tore their garments” (1 Maccabees 3:47; see also 4:39).

DATES

• Easter Sunday is a movable feast dependent on the moon’s phases; Ash Wednesday is 46 days before Easter Sunday. Ash Wednesday can only occur on February 4 (and only in years with Easter on March 22), which happened in 1598, 1693, 1761, and 1818. It will next occur in 2285.
• Ash Wednesday can occur as late as March 10 (when Easter Sunday falls on April 25), which happened in 1666, 1734, 1886, and 1943. It will happen again in 2038.
• Ash Wednesday has never fallen on Leap Year Day (February 29) since the Gregorian calendar was adopted in 1582, but it will do so for the first time in 2096.
• Only four other years in the third millennium—2468, 2688, 2840, and 2992—will also have Ash Wednesday on February 29. If and only if Easter falls on April 15 in a leap year, Ash Wednesday occurs on February 29.

Ash Wednesday Worksheets

This fantastic bundle includes everything you need to know about Ash Wednesday across 25 in-depth pages. These ready-to-use worksheets are perfect for teaching kids about Ash Wednesday, marks the beginning of the season of Lent, and is one of the most well-known and significant holy days on the Christian calendar.

Download includes the following worksheets.

1. Ash Wednesday Facts
2. Words of Holy 
3. Heavenly Knowledge
4. Deep Meaning 
5. True or False?
6. Share the Goods
7. Holy Observances 
8. Participating is a Must 
9. How to Show Devotion
10. Words of Wisdom 
11. Watch and Reflect

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Ash Wednesday?

Ash Wednesday is a Christian holy day that marks the beginning of Lent, a period of fasting, prayer, and repentance in preparation for Easter.

When is Ash Wednesday celebrated?

Ash Wednesday is celebrated on the first day of Lent, which falls on a different date each year, depending on the date of Easter.

What is the significance of the ashes used on Ash Wednesday?

The ashes used on Ash Wednesday are typically made by burning palm fronds from the previous year’s Palm Sunday. The ashes symbolize mortality and repentance, and they are applied to the foreheads of worshippers in the form of a cross.

What is the meaning of the ashes on Ash Wednesday?

The ashes on Ash Wednesday represent the beginning of a period of introspection and penance. They serve as a reminder of our mortality and the need to repent for our sins.

How is Ash Wednesday celebrated?

Ash Wednesday is typically celebrated with special church services, during which worshippers receive ashes on their foreheads. Many Christians also choose to fast or give up certain luxuries during the Lenten season as a form of sacrifice and spiritual discipline.

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