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Ash Wednesday
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Congregants with ash crosses on their foreheads stand in pews during Ash Wednesday Mass at the Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle in Washington, DC.
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Parishioners line up to receive ashes from priests at the front of Annunciation Catholic Church in Washington, DC, while others sit in wooden pews on Ash Wednesday. The Easter Story A priest in a pink vestment marks a cross with ashes on a woman's forehead during Ash Wednesday in a Catholic church in Chunakhali, West Bengal, India.
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Christ as Ruler, with the Apostles and Evangelists (represented by the beasts). The female figures are believed to be either Santa Pudenziana and Santa Praxedes or symbols of the Jewish and Gentile churches. Mosaic in the apse of Santa Pudenziana, Rome,A
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Ash Wednesday: References & Edit History

Article Contributors

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  • The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
    Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors.

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Article History

Type Description Contributor Date
Modified link of Web site: EWTN - Carnival and Ashes. Jun 19, 2026
Added Top Questions. Article revised and updated. Feb 17, 2026
Add new Web site: EWTN - Carnival and Ashes. Oct 11, 2025
Add new Web site: Heritage History - The Magi. Jul 23, 2025
Add new Web site: Academia - Ash Wednesday (PDF). Apr 15, 2025
Media added Feb 25, 2025
Media added. Jan 29, 2025
Add new Web site: CORE - Ash Wednesday: Behold, the Lamb of God. Sep 14, 2024
Media added. Mar 29, 2024
Noted that Shrove Tuesday precedes Ash Wednesday. Clarified that receiving ashes is not a sacrament. Feb 07, 2024
Add new Web site: University of Notre Dame - FaithND - Ash Wednesday. Dec 05, 2023
Add new Web site: Christianity.com - What is Ash Wednesday? Jun 21, 2023
Noted that the ashes serve as a memento mori. Feb 21, 2023
Add new Web site: McClintock and Strong Biblical Cyclopedia - Ash-wednesday. Jan 16, 2023
Add new Web site: Catholic Online - Ash Wednesday. Jul 18, 2022
Corrected display issue. Mar 01, 2022
Add new Web site: Learn Religions - What is Ash Wednesday? Feb 23, 2020
Add new Web site: Ancient Origins - 4 things to Know About Ash Wednesday. Feb 23, 2020
Added information on the Roman Catholic observance of Ash Wednesday. Feb 11, 2020
Replaced photograph. Jul 18, 2017
Media added. Jan 29, 2009
Article added to new online database. Jul 20, 1998
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