Ash Wednesday is a holy day of prayer and fasting in many Western Christian denominations. It is preceded by Shrove Tuesday and marks the first day of Lent: the seven weeks of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving before the arrival of Easter.
Ash Wednesday is observed by Christians of the Catholic, Lutheran, Moravian, Anglican (Episcopalian), and United Protestant denominations, as well as by some churches in the Reformed (including certain Congregationalist, Continental Reformed, and Presbyterian churches), Baptist, Methodist, and Nazarene traditions.
Ash Wednesday is traditionally observed with fasting and abstinence from meat in several Christian denominations. As it is the first day of Lent, many Christians begin Ash Wednesday by marking a Lenten calendar, praying a Lenten daily devotional, and making a Lenten sacrifice that they will not partake of until the arrival of Eastertide.
Many Christians attend special Ash Wednesday church services at which churchgoers receive ash on their foreheads or the top of their heads, as the wearing of ashes has been a sign of repentance since biblical times. The imposition of ashes is typically done with the sign of the cross, signifying that the recipient is a follower of Jesus. Ash Wednesday derives its name from this practice, in which the words accompany the placement (imposition) of ashes, "Repent, and believe in the Gospel" or the dictum "Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return." The ashes are prepared by burning palm leaves from the previous year's Palm Sunday celebrations.
Observing and non-observing denominations
Ash Wednesday is observed by numerous denominations within Western Christianity. Latin Church Catholics, Lutherans, Anglicans, and Moravians observe it. Churches in the United Protestant tradition, such as the Church of North India, Church of South India, and United Church of Canada honour Ash Wednesday too.
Some Baptists, many Methodists (including denominations aligned with the holiness movement such as Nazarenes and Wesleyans), many Radical Pietists such as the Evangelical Covenant Church, and some Conservative Anabaptists, including some Mennonites, observe Ash Wednesday. The Metropolitan Community Churches observe Ash Wednesday. Many Independent Catholics, and the Community of Christ also observe it.
The Reformed churches have historically not observed Ash Wednesday, nor Lent in general, due to the Reformed regulative principle of worship. Since the mid-twentieth century, many churches in the Reformed tradition (including certain Congregationalist, Continental Reformed, and Presbyterian churches) do observe both Ash Wednesday and Lent such as the Church of Scotland, the Protestant Church of the Netherlands, the Swiss Reformed Church, the Presbyterian Church (USA), and the United Church of Christ. The Reformed Church in America, for example, describes Ash Wednesday as a day "focused on prayer, fasting, and repentance." The liturgy for Ash Wednesday thus contains the following "Invitation to Observe a Lenten Discipline" read by the presider:
We begin this holy season by acknowledging our need for repentance and our need for the love and forgiveness shown to us in Jesus Christ. I invite you, therefore, in the name of Christ, to observe a Holy Lent, by self-examination and penitence, by prayer and fasting, by practicing works of love, and by reading and reflecting on God's Holy Word.
The Eastern Orthodox Church does not, in general, observe Ash Wednesday. Instead, Orthodox Great Lent begins on Clean Monday and followed by Sad (Sorrowful) Wednesday. There are a relatively small number of Orthodox Christians who follow the Western Rite. These do observe Ash Wednesday, although often on a different day from the previously mentioned denominations, as its date is determined from the Orthodox calculation of Pascha, which may be as much as a month later than the Western observance of Easter.
Many Lent-observing denominations emphasize making a Lenten sacrifice, as well as fasting and abstinence during the season of Lent, particularly on Ash Wednesday. The First Council of Nicaea spoke of Lent as a period of fasting for forty days in advance of Easter, although it is unclear whether the prescribed fast applied to all Christians, or specifically to new Christians preparing to be baptized. Whatever the council's original intent, this forty-day fast came into wide practice throughout the church.
While starting a Lenten sacrifice on Ash Wednesday (e.g. giving up alcohol), it is customary to pray for strength to keep it through the whole season of Lent; many often wish others to do so as well, e.g. "May God bless your Lenten sacrifice." In many places, Christians historically abstained from food for a whole day until the evening, and at sunset, Western Christians traditionally broke the Lenten fast, which is often known as the Black Fast. In India and Pakistan, many Christians continue this practice of fasting until sunset on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday, with some fasting in this manner throughout the whole season of Lent. In India, Ash Wednesday is called व्रत विभूति (Vrat Vibhuti - meaning, "the sacred ash of the Holy Fast"). After attending a worship service, often on Wednesday evenings, it is common for Christians of various denominations that celebrate Lent to break that day's Lenten fast together through a communal Lenten supper, which is held in the church's parish hall.
Among Catholics, Ash Wednesday is observed by fasting, abstinence from meat (which begins at age 14 according to canon law 1252), and repentance. On Ash Wednesday and Good Friday, Roman Catholics between the ages of 18 and 59, whose health enables them to fast, are permitted to consume one full meal, along with two smaller meals, which together should not equal the full meal. Some Catholics will go beyond the minimum obligations put forth by the Church and undertake a complete fast or a bread and water fast until sunset. Ash Wednesday and Good Friday are also days of abstinence from meat (mammals and fowl), as are all Fridays during Lent. Some Roman Catholics continue fasting throughout Lent, as was the Church's traditional requirement, concluding only after the celebration of the Easter Vigil. Where the Ambrosian Rite is observed, the day of fasting and abstinence is postponed to the first Friday in the Ambrosian Lent, nine days later.
Several Lutheran parishes teach communicants to fast on Ash Wednesday, with some parishioners choosing to continue doing so throughout the entire season of Lent, especially on Good Friday. A Handbook for the Discipline of Lent, a Lutheran liturgical manual, recommends that the faithful "Fast on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday with only one simple meal during the day, usually without meat".
In the Church of England, and throughout much of the Worldwide Anglican Communion, the entire forty days of Lent are designated days of fasting. Fridays are designated as days of abstinence in the 1662 Book of Common Prayer. Saint Augustine's Prayer Book, a resource for Anglicans of Anglo-Catholic churchmanship, defines "Fasting" as "usually meaning not more than a light breakfast, one full meal, and one-half meal, on the forty days of Lent." The same text defines abstinence as refraining from flesh meat on all Fridays of the Church Year, except for those during Christmastide.
In the Methodist tradition, John Wesley's sermons on the topic of the Sermon on the Mount stress the importance of the Lenten fast, which begins on Ash Wednesday. The United Methodist Church therefore states that:
There is a strong biblical base for fasting, particularly during the 40 days of Lent leading to the celebration of Easter. Jesus, as part of his spiritual preparation, went into the wilderness and fasted 40 days and 40 nights, according to the Gospels.
Rev. Jacqui King, the minister of Nu Faith Community United Methodist Church in Houston explained the philosophy of fasting during Lent as "I'm not skipping a meal because in place of that meal, I'm dining with God".