Ash Wednesday signifies the start of Lent. The day is often started with a service where members are asked to recognize their own mortality, repent their sins, and return to God. On Ash Wednesday the faithful begin their Lenten sacrifices and commit to changes in their lives.

At Ash Wednesday services, the pastor marks the sign of the cross on each person’s forehead with ashes. The ashes are an important symbol that represents mortality and repentance. Ashes connect with mortality because when we die our bodies fade away to ash and with repentance because in Scripture people would put ashes on their head and wear sackcloth as an act of contrition.

The ashes have further meaning in that the ashes used come from the previous year’s Palm Sunday. The palms used on Palm Sunday are burned and mixed with water, which is symbolic of tears.