The Roman Catholic Church requires its followers to practice abstinence from meat and fasting on Ash Wednesday.

Learn what Ash Wednesday means, why people get ashes on their foreheads, and how the tradition marks the start of Lent.

Christians commonly celebrate Ash Wednesday with ashes on their forehead and fasting to start the Lenten season, according to britannica.com. Lent begins on Ash Wednesday, which is Feb. 18, 2026. Lent ...

It begins with Ash Wednesday, marked by Catholics and some Protestant denominations with special services and fasting. Ash Wednesday also marks the first day of Lent, a 40-day period of fasting ...

FILE - Catholics pray the rosary while a priest marks people's foreheads with ashes during Ash Wednesday Mass at the Church of the Divine Child in Bogota, Colombia, Wednesday, Feb. 14, 2024. This is ...

When is Easter Sunday 2026? Mardi Gras - Fat Tuesday will kickoff Ash Wednesday and the start of Lent next week. See Good Friday and holy days to know ...

Different churches have found various ways of calculating the traditional 40 days of Lent, but the number itself is important. It connects to the biblical symbolism of the number ...

As the sun rose over the Sandias, worshippers quietly filled the pews of the historic San Felipe de Neri Church for the early ...

This is the week of Ash Wednesday, a solemn day of fasting and reflection that signals the start of Lent, the most penitential season of the church calendar for Catholics and many other Christians.On ...