Ash Wednesday comes from the ancient Jewish tradition of penance and fasting, where wearing ashes on the head symbolised the dust from which God made humans, or as a sign of grief over sin.

Church members began wearing ashes a “public demonstration of repentance for sins” about one thousand years ago.

Many Christians still wear an ash cross on their foreheads on Ash Wednesday, to mark the first day of fasting during the Lent period.

This article was originally part of a longer one published here.