Last night I was out to dinner and saw 2 people at diff. tables w/big grey spots on their forehead and realized it must be Ash Wednesday. I asked one of the gals I was with if she had ever been Catholic. She said she went to Cath. school for 12 years. I said, what is the deal w/the ashes? Do the people have to wear them all day long or can they wash them off or what. She said she didn't remember the significance of them or if they could wash them off.
I found this:
Columbia Encyclopedia
Ash Wednesday, in the Western Church, the first day of Lent, being the seventh Wednesday before Easter. On this day ashes are placed on the foreheads of the faithful to remind them of death, of the sorrow they should feel for their sins, and of the necessity of changing their lives. The practice, which dates from the early Middle Ages, is common among Roman Catholics, Anglicans and Episcopalians, and many Lutherans; it was also adopted by some Methodists and Presbyterians in the 1990s.
So I see what the symbol is but does anyone know if they have to wear it on their heads all day long or is it their choice to wash it off but some people don't because they just like it?
