Ash Wednesday

American  

noun

1. the first day of Lent.

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Ash Wednesday British  

noun

1. the first day of Lent, named from the practice of Christians of placing ashes on their heads as a sign of penitence

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Ash Wednesday Cultural  

1. The seventh Wednesday before Easter; the first day of Lent for most Christians (see also Christian); the day after “Fat Tuesday,” or Mardi Gras. It is frequently observed as a day of fasting and repentance for sin. In some churches, ashes are placed on the foreheads of worshipers on Ash Wednesday as a reminder of their mortality. The words of God to Adam in the Bible (see also Bible) are often used in the ceremony: “Dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.”

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Usage

What is Ash Wednesday? Ash Wednesday is the first day of Lent, the season of fasting and penitence that precedes Easter in some branches of Christianity. Ash Wednesday gets its name from the tradition of placing ashes on worshippers’ foreheads as a sign of penitence and a reminder of their mortality.

Etymology

Origin of Ash Wednesday

First recorded in 1250–1300

Example Sentences

But in 1930 his poetic public was taken aback by Ash-Wednesday, his first published poem in five years.

From Time Magazine Archive

The American revisers, instead of transferring the Commination Office in toto to the new book, wisely decided to engraft certain features of it upon the Morning Prayer for Ash-Wednesday.

From A Short History of the Book of Common Prayer by Huntington, William Reed

We counted on finding you at home on Ash-Wednesday.

From Our Own Set A Novel by Schubin, Ossip

The grey light of Ash-Wednesday morning broke over Rome, and stole through the windows of Giovanni Saracinesca's bedroom.

From Saracinesca by Crawford, F. Marion (Francis Marion)

At last, however, when Ash-Wednesday was half over, there was a quiet movement, and a small pale man in black was at the bedside, without Philip's having ever seen his entrance.

From The Chaplet of Pearls by Yonge, Charlotte Mary