18 February 2026 is Ash Wednesday, which traditionally starts the season of Lent. This is the story …
Origin of Ash Wednesday
Ash Wednesday is the first day of Lent, the forty-day season of prayer, self-examination, and fasting that leads to Easter. The forty days of Lent echo Jesus’ forty days in the wilderness (Matthew 4:1–2). The English term ‘Lent’ originates from the Anglo-Saxon word ‘Lencten’, from which we get the word lengthen, referring to the start of spring when the days lengthen.
Ash Wednesday takes its name from the ancient practice of placing ashes on parishioners’ foreheads as a sign of mortality and repentance. This was a widespread practice in mediaeval Europe and remains customary in Catholic, High Church Anglican, and Lutheran traditions, and sometimes in other churches, but it is not part of the Eastern Orthodox tradition.
The date of Ash Wednesday fluctuates each year, falling either in late February or early March, depending on the date of Easter. The earliest possible date for Ash Wednesday is 4 February, and the latest is 10 March. In 2026, Ash Wednesday falls on Wednesday 18 February.
Practice
On Ash Wednesday, traditionally ashes are made by blessing the previous year’s Palm Sunday crosses and burning them, to link one year’s Lent with the next. Sometimes these ashes are mixed with specially blessed water or chrism oil to create a light paste.
Many churches hold a special service, usually including Holy Communion, on Ash Wednesday, which may be early in the morning, at lunchtime, or in the evening. At the end of the service, ashes are placed on the forehead, although in Italy and some other countries the tradition is to sprinkle them on the crown of the head.
The priest or minister then typically makes the sign of the cross with the ashes while saying something like, “Remember you are dust, and to dust you shall return”, recalling the Lord’s words to Adam after the Fall (Genesis 3:19), or they might say, “Repent and believe in the Gospel”. People then walk out of church with an ashen cross on their foreheads.
Originally, the custom started in the Early Church as a public act of penance for known wrongdoers in the community, but soon it developed into something for everyone in a church community to do in public recognition that sin is universal and we all need to repent of something.
Symbolism of Ashes
In the Bible, dust and ashes are associated with repentance. After sin enters the world, God tells Adam, “for dust you are and to dust you will return” (Genesis 3:19). The theological association of ashes with the forgiveness of sins began when the Levites used ashes from a red heifer for ceremonially cleansing the unclean (Numbers 19:9–10), which the writer of Hebrews wrote pointed to sanctification (Hebrews 9:13).
Ashes often mark deep sorrow or grief over sin and loss. Job sat in ashes amid suffering and later repented “in dust and ashes” (Job 2:8; 42:6), while the people of Nineveh covered themselves in ashes during their repentance (Jonah 3:6), and Daniel seeks God “in fasting, sackcloth and ashes” as he confesses the sins of his people (Daniel 9:3).
Jesus assumed the same imagery when he said that if the pagan cities of Tyre and Sidon had seen his miracles, “they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes” (Matthew 11:21). God promised to bestow on us “a crown of beauty, instead of ashes” (Isaiah 61:3), symbolising redemption through grace.
Ash Wednesday Around the World
While the biblical themes are shared, local cultures shape how Ash Wednesday looks in different countries. In the Philippines, a predominantly Catholic nation, churches are often crowded all day as people come to receive a cross of ash and begin the season of fasting and reflection on Christ’s passion.
Ash Wednesday is a public holiday in some predominantly Catholic countries. It is a public holiday in countries of Portuguese colonial heritage like the Cape Verde Islands and East Timor, while in Brazil Ash Wednesday is widely treated as a holiday in the morning. In parts of Latin America and the Caribbean, Ash Wednesday is a holiday, such as in the Cayman Islands, French Guiana, Guadeloupe, Haiti, Jamaica, and Panama, where it follows the excesses of two days of carnival. In many other countries, Ash Wednesday is widely observed in churches but is not a public holiday.
In some places, specific traditions have arisen. In Iceland, the first day of Lent is called Öskudagur, and children dress up in costume, visit homes, and sing songs in exchange for sweets. In parts of Latin America, such as Guatemala and Peru, worshippers attend Mass in traditional dress, receive the ashes, and sometimes join candlelit processions that set the tone for an intense week of devotion. In Ireland, “National No Smoking Day” takes place on Ash Wednesday, as the start of Lent is seen as a good time to encourage people to give up smoking.
Lectionary Readings
The most widely used lectionary readings for Ash Wednesday are Joel 2:12–17, Psalm 51, and Matthew 6:16–21. The Old Testament reading from Joel is about turning to God with fasting. It was common for people to wear sackcloth when fasting and repenting as an outward sign of repentance. Joel reminds the people, “rend your heart, and not your garments” (Joel 2:13). It was the attitude of the heart which was more important than the clothing.
Psalm 51 is a psalm of David, which tells the story of his repentance after the prophet Nathan came to him after he had committed adultery with Bathsheba. The sin behind Psalm 51’s confession was David’s murder and affair with Uriah’s wife, as told in 2 Samuel 12. In this psalm, David prays, “Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me” (Psalm 51:10).
The New Testament reading from Matthew is about the instructions which Jesus gave about fasting. This section starts with Jesus saying, “When you fast…” (Matthew 6:16), not “if you fast…”, because he was talking to people for whom fasting was part of their religion and culture. They did not need to be encouraged to fast or be told about the benefits of fasting. Rather, Jesus needed to remind them about the attitude, as Joel had done before, that it should not be done for show, but should come from a true contrite heart.
Collect
The Anglican collect prayer for Ash Wednesday is:
“Almighty and everlasting God, who hatest nothing that thou hast made, and dost forgive the sins of all them that are penitent: Create and make in us new and contrite hearts, that we, worthily lamenting our sins and acknowledging our wretchedness, may obtain of thee, the God of all mercy, perfect remission and forgiveness; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.”
