KUCHING: Today is Ash Wednesday.
It marks the beginning of Lent in the Christian liturgical calendar, and it is observed by Catholics, Anglicans and some other mainstream denominations worldwide.
The day is observed 46 days before Easter Sunday this year and signals the start of a 40-day period of fasting and prayer, excluding Sundays.
At St Thomas Cathedral Kuching, hundreds of Anglican Christians gathered for Ash Wednesday for the 6.30 am service this morning.
The church have other services for 12.30 pm and 7.30 pm today.
During church services, worshippers receive ashes on their foreheads in the shape of a cross, which is called the imposition of ashes.
When the priest or minister imposes the ashes on the forehead, they will say “Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return”.
The ashes symbolise repentance, humility and human mortality.
Traditionally, the ashes are made by burning palm branches that were blessed during the previous year’s Palm Sunday.
The practice of using ashes as a sign of sorrow and repentance dates back to ancient biblical times.
Ash Wednesday is also a day of fasting and abstinence for many Christians.
Lent, which begins on Ash Wednesday, traditionally lasts for 40 days (not counting Sundays) and commemorates the 40 days that Jesus Christ fasted in the wilderness.
The season ends this year before the celebration of Easter (April 5), which marks the resurrection of Jesus.
