Ash Wednesday
Ash Wednesday is the first day of Lent in the Western Christian calendar. It occurs 46 days before Easter. The date is different each year because the date of Easter varies. It can fall as early as February 4 and as late as March 10.
Those able to and willing to should fast voluntarily between Ash Wednesday and Easter. There are exceptions, though. Pregnant women, sick people, children, and the old usually don't have to.
Ash Wednesday is a very important part of Lent.
Dates
The dates of Ash Wednesday are:
| 2000 | March 8 | |
| 2001 | February 28 | |
| 2002 | February 14 | |
| 2003 | March 5 | |
| 2004 | February 25 | |
| 2005 | February 9 | |
| 2006 | March 1 | |
| 2007 | February 21 | |
| 2008 | February 6 | |
| 2009 | February 25 | |
| 2010 | February 17 | |
| 2011 | March 9 | |
| 2012 | February 22 | |
| 2013 | February 13 | |
| 2014 | March 5 | |
| 2015 | February 18 | |
| 2016 | February 10 | |
| 2017 | March 1 | |
| 2018 | February 14 | |
| 2019 | March 6 | |
| 2020 | February 26 | |
| 2021 | February 17 | |
| 2022 | March 2 | |
| 2023 | February 22 | |
| 2024 | February 14 | |
| 2025 | March 5 | |
| 2026 | February 18 | |
| 2027 | February 10 | |
| 2028 | March 1 | |
| 2029 | February 14 | |
| 2030 | March 6 |
Ash Wednesday Media
Jesus Tempted in the Wilderness (Jésus tenté dans le désert), James Tissot, Brooklyn Museum
Yokosuka, Japan (March 01, 2006) - USS Kitty Hawk (CV 63), Chaplain, Lt. Matthias Rendon blesses ashes, during an Ash Wednesday service held on board Commander Fleet Activities Yokosuka. U.S. Navy photo by Photographer's Mate 1st Class Crystal Brooks (RELEASED)
A priest marks a cross of ashes on a worshipper's forehead, the prevailing form in English-speaking countries.
A deacon burning palm fronds from the previous Palm Sunday for Ash Wednesday
Two Anglican priests distribute ashes to passersby in the American city of Boca Raton as part of the Ashes to Go movement.
St. Mary's Episcopal Cathedral in Memphis, Tennessee on Ash Wednesday 2011. The veiled altar cross and purple paraments are customary during Lent.
An 1881 Polish painting of a Roman Catholic priest sprinkling ashes on the heads of worshippers, the method prevailing in Italy, Spain, and parts of Latin America.
Ash Wednesday by Carl Spitzweg: the end of Carnival
The chancel of a church on Ash Wednesday 2015 (the veiled altar cross and purple paraments are customary during Lent).
Imposition of ashes during a Lutheran Ash Wednesday Mass, 2017
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