Ash Wednesday: Your Complete Guide to the First Day of Lent

It’s almost Ash Wednesday, the official kick-off of the Christian season of Lent! Are you ready for this important holiday?

While Ash Wednesday doesn’t require the weeks or even months of shopping, cooking, and cleaning other Christian holidays do (thankfully!), it can be helpful to do a little prep in advance.

Depending on how you observe Ash Wednesday, you might want to review the Ash Wednesday fasting rules, double-check if Ash Wednesday is a holy day of obligation, or figure out what to give up for Lent so you’re ready to face the day with no surprises.

The good news is: If you’re wondering, “What do you do on Ash Wednesday again??” you’ll find answers to all your most pressing Ash Wednesday questions here.

In this article, we’re answering questions including:

What is Ash Wednesday?

Ash Wednesday is a Christian religious holiday and the first day of Lent. If you’re not familiar, Lent is the 40-day period of spiritual preparation leading up to Easter in which many Christians reflect on Christ’s death and resurrection.

Because it marks the beginning of the Lenten season, Ash Wednesday is typically a solemn day of prayer, fasting, and repentance (not an exciting day of celebration).

When is Ash Wednesday 2025?

Ash Wednesday is on Wednesday, March 5, 2025 this year. Ash Wednesday is always on a Wednesday each year, and it is always six and a half weeks (46 days) before Easter Sunday.

What is the Significance of Ash Wednesday?

If your church doesn’t celebrate Ash Wednesday, it’s normal to wonder, “What does Ash Wednesday represent?”

For those Christians who do observe Ash Wednesday, the holiday is a sober reminder of our sinfulness and our need for God. On Ash Wednesday, believers focus on preparing their hearts for Lent and the coming Easter celebrations when Christians of all different denominations remember Christ’s resurrection.

This period of mourning our own sinfulness and brokenness paves the way for the celebration of what Jesus accomplished on the cross on Easter morning.

Do Protestants Celebrate Ash Wednesday?

Some Protestant denominations celebrate Ash Wednesday, but not all. The Protestant denominations that most commonly participate in Ash Wednesday include: Anglicans, Episcopalians, Lutherans, Moravians, Methodists, Nazarenes, Presbyterians, and some Reformed denominations.

Some Baptists observe Ash Wednesday. Evangelical and Pentecostal Christians are less likely to participate in Ash Wednesday. Furthermore, the way individual Protestants and Protestant churches observe Ash Wednesday can vary wildly.

Of those Christians who don’t participate in Ash Wednesday, most don’t simply because their churches or families don’t have any special traditions around the holiday, or they’re too busy or not interested in taking part. A small minority may choose not to celebrate because Ash Wednesday isn’t in the Bible.

What Do Christians Do on Ash Wednesday?

On Ash Wednesday, many Christians attend special church services where priests or pastors hand-draw ash crosses on parishioners’ foreheads or the tops of their heads. The ashes symbolize the dust God used to create humans and remind us of grief over the sins we’ve committed.

Traditionally, the ashes are made from burning some of the palms used in the previous year’s Palm Sunday services. (Some of the palms are made into palm crosses and aren’t available for burning.) While Catholic and Methodist churches still practice this, many churches purchase ashes from religious supply stores instead of burning the leaves.

When the priests or pastors place the ashes on participants’ heads, they usually say: “Repent, and believe in the Gospel,” or “Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return.”

Many Christians also voluntarily choose to give things up for Lent. For those that do, Ash Wednesday is the first day Christians go without whatever they’ve chosen to give up until Easter Sunday.

Additionally, Catholic Christians have detailed Ash Wednesday rules around fasting and abstinence from certain foods that Protestant Christians aren’t obligated to follow (see below for details).

Where And How to Receive Ashes on Ash Wednesday

You can receive ashes at any Catholic Church on Ash Wednesday. You can receive ashes without going to confession, and you don’t have to be Catholic to receive ashes at a Catholic church. Simply do a quick search for Catholic mass times in your area to find the service times for churches in your area.

Alternately, if you’re unable to attend Catholic mass, you can sometimes receive ashes from pop-up Ashes To Go locations on college campuses, at airports, at local coffee shops, and at bus stops — though these locations may be more difficult to find if you don’t already visit these places frequently.

Is Ash Wednesday a Holy Day of Obligation for Catholics?

Ash Wednesday is NOT a holy day of obligation for Catholics. Holy Thursday and Good Friday aren’t holy days of obligation either. This means attending Mass on Ash Wednesday is not mandatory — but always encouraged!

Can You Eat Meat on Ash Wednesday? (Ash Wednesday Fasting Rules for Catholics)

Catholics can not eat meat on Ash Wednesday, as Ash Wednesday IS a day of fasting and abstinence for Catholic Christians. This means Catholics can not eat these meats on Ash Wednesday (or any Friday during Lent):

• Chicken
• Beef
• Pork
• Ham
• Deer
• Lamb
• Buffalo

Catholics CAN eat eggs, any type of fish, and dairy on Ash Wednesday (and any day during Lent). Catholics are also always welcome to eat any fruits, vegetables, grains, desserts, etc. every day during the Lenten season without any restrictions (unless they’ve voluntarily chosen to give them up).

In addition to giving up meat (abstaining), Catholic Christians also need to fast on Ash Wednesday, which means limiting their food intake to one regular meal and two smaller meals (equalling less than two full meals total). Ash Wednesday is one of only two fasting days during Lent. However, there are multiple exceptions to this rule given to young children, pregnant women, the elderly, those with health conditions, and more.

For a complete and in-depth guide to the Ash Wednesday Fasting Rules, please see my article: Catholic Lent Fasting Rules Made Easy (Complete Guide!)

You can also find 50+ Easy Lent Recipes here.

Protestant Christians do not have to follow any Ash Wednesday fasting rules.

Are There Any Bible Verses about Ash Wednesday?

There are no Bible quotes or Bible verses about Ash Wednesday, as the Christian holy day was formalized after the Scriptures were written.

However, many Ash Wednesday practices draw inspiration from common biblical traditions. For example:

• Bible Verses About Almsgiving: Leviticus 25:35, Proverbs 19:17, Matthew 19:21, Luke 11:41, Acts 10:2, Hebrews 13:16, 2 Corinthians 9:5-7, 1 Timothy 6:18, 1 John 3:17
• Bible Verses About Ashes: Leviticus 6:11, Numbers 4:13, Numbers 19:17, Esther 4:3, Job 42:6, Ecclesiastes 3:20, Isaiah 58:5, Daniel 9:3, Hebrews 9:13
• Bible Verses About Fasting: Exodus 34:28, Ezra 8:23, Psalm 69:10, Joel 1:14, Joel 2:12, Matthew 6:16-18
• Bible Verses About Prayer: Jeremiah 29:12, Jeremiah 33:3, Matthew 6:6-7, Mark 11:24, Philippians 4:6, I Thessalonians 5:16-18, James 5:16
• Bible Verses About Repentance: Proverbs 28:13, Matthew 3:2, Luke 13:3, Luke 15:7, Luke 17:3-4, Acts 3:19, Acts 8:22, 2 Peter 3:9, Revelation 2:5
• Bible Verses About Scripture Reading: Joshua 1:8, Psalm 119:11, Psalm 119:105, Romans 15:4, Colossians 3:16, 1 Timothy 4:13, 2 Timothy 3:16, Hebrews 4:12
• Bible Verses About Self-Denial (Abstinence): Psalm 119:9, Proverbs 25:28, Matthew 16:24, 1 Corinthians 9:27, 1 Corinthians 10:13, Galatians 5:24-25, Colossians 3:5, Hebrews 13:5, 1 Peter 2:11, 1 Peter 5:8

Are There Any Prayers for Ash Wednesday?

While prayer is a common staple of Ash Wednesday, there aren’t any popular or well-known Ash Wednesday prayers. Rather, Christians typically focus on their own prayers of repentance and forgiveness or pray pre-written prayers as part of a liturgical church service.

For example, the Reformed Church in America’s liturgy begins with this Ash Wednesday prayer:

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.

Some of the Scripture verses often mentioned in Ash Wednesday prayers include:

• Genesis 3:19: “By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return.”
• Daniel 9:3: “So I turned to the Lord God and pleaded with him in prayer and petition, in fasting, and in sackcloth and ashes.”
• Job 42:5-6: “My ears had heard of you but now my eyes have seen you. Therefore I despise myself and repent in dust and ashes.”
• Mark 1:15: “’The time has come,’ he said. ‘The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!'”

And of course you’re welcome to pray these 40 Short Daily Lenten Prayers for Spiritual Renewal on Ash Wednesday or any day throughout the season of Lent.

What are the Origins of Ash Wednesday?

Ash Wednesday traditions began many centuries ago, and Pope Gregory established it as an official Catholic holy day in 601 AD. From its origins, early Christians began using ashes because of the Hebrew tradition of wearing sackcloth and ashes during periods of mourning (Daniel 9:3).

According to a Wikipedia article about the holiday, Ash Wednesday had become a custom in Western Europe by the end of the 10th century, and Christians called the day “Feria Quarta Cinerum,” which means “Ash Wednesday.”

What has been your experience with Ash Wednesday? Does your denomination observe this holy day? Will you participate in Ash Wednesday this year?