What is Ash Wednesday?
With the good times and festivities of Mardi Gras over, Christians, particularly those in the Catholic tradition, turn their attention and focus on Christ for a six-week period known as Lent.
Ash Wednesday, observed Feb. 14 this year, is the first day of Lent, a season of prayer and fasting. Notable as a day when believers have ashes in the shape of a cross placed upon their foreheads, Ash Wednesday has a long history.