Why do Churches Celebrate Ash Wednesday?

Putting ashes on your head is pretty strange. Especially if you didn't grow up in the church, you may have wondered why people observe this unusual practice.

Where did Ash Wednesday come from?

According to the Museum of the Bible, Pope Gregory established the official start of the season of Lent to be 46 days prior to Easter as well as the creation of Ash Wednesday with the tradition of placing ashes in the shape of a cross on people’s foreheads. The season of Lent - which begins on Ash Wednesday - is a somber time of repentance in our church calendar where our attention is directed toward Jesus’s death on the cross for our forgiveness which leads to our celebration of Jesus’s resurrection on Easter Sunday. 

Why are the ashes in the shape of a cross?

The practice of wearing ashes and sackcloth is a biblical sign of repentance (as seen in Jonah 3:6 and Daniel 9:3). Ashes were seen as an outward sign of inward repentance. For many people today, receiving a cross of ash on our foreheads is a meaningful reminder of our mortality as well as the death that Jesus endured to secure our forgiveness. But just as the somber season of Lent leads us to the joyful celebration of Easter, so also the cross on our heads points to a joyful reality. 

In John 11:25, Jesus says, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live.” Because Jesus’s sacrifice on the cross has been applied to us, even though we face our own mortality, we know that is not the end of the story. Our sins have been forgiven. We have eternal life. And that changes the way we live. 

Galatians 2:20 says, “I have been crucified with Christ, and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” When we wear ashes on the shape of a cross on our forehead, it is a reminder that one day this life will end. But it is also a reminder that - for believers - this life has already ended, and a new one has begun. 

Jesus won new life for us by his death and resurrection! He applies that gift to us when we hear God’s Word, are baptized in His name, and celebrate His Supper. Eternal life is a sure and certain promise for all who believe in Jesus! 

What is the meaning of Ash Wednesday?

When we put ashes on our forehead, it is not just a reminder of repentance; it is a reminder of the certainty of our resurrection in Jesus!

As we begin this year’s journey to the cross and empty tomb, may our hearts be turned in repentance to our savior, Jesus, and may they beat with the new life that is ours in him!  

Further Resources:

• “Behold Your King!” | 2026 Lenten devotions from Lutheran Hour Ministries

• “This Dust” | Musical contemplation by Kip Fox on the subject of dust, ashes, repentance, and grace.

• “The Strange and Beautiful Ash Wednesday” | Devotional reflection on Ash Wednesday by Chad Bird

• “Surveying Our Soiled Condition, and the Condition of our Soil” | Article on Ash Wednesday by Steven Hein