Ash Wednesday

February 6 is Ash Wednesday, the beginning of the Lenten season in the Christian world, the six-week season that precedes Easter. All over the globe, this is a day for fasting, reflection, and going to church. In the Catholic church and many Christian churches, penitents are marked on their forehead with ashes in the sign of the cross. This custom reflects Job’s words to God, recounted in the Bible’s Job 42:3-6: “Wherefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes.”

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