ASH WEDNESDAY

( in the Christian Church ) the first day of Lent . Traditionally, Roman Catholics go to church on Ash Wednesday and their foreheads are marked with ashes as a sign that they are sorry for their sins (= offences against religious or moral laws). In the US this tradition is still widely followed. The ashes are not washed off but left to go away on their own. It is not polite to make a comment on such marks on a person’s forehead.