Find an Ash Wednesday service near you
Roman Catholic and Church of England churches almost all keep the day, often with services at lunchtime and in the evening. Search your town.
From pancakes to ashes
Britain eases into Lent through its stomach. Shrove Tuesday, pancake day, was originally the day for using up eggs and fat before the Lenten fast, and for being "shriven", that is, confessing before the season began. Ash Wednesday follows the next morning and could hardly be more different in mood: quiet, spare and honest about mortality. The two days belong together, feast then fast, and the contrast is the point.
When does it fall?
Ash Wednesday sits forty days before Easter, not counting Sundays, so its date moves with Easter itself and can land anywhere from early February to early March. Because it falls midweek, most churches offer more than one service: a said communion in the morning, sometimes a lunchtime service for workers, and a fuller sung service in the evening.
What happens in the service
- Readings and address.The classic texts call God's people back to him: the prophet Joel's "rend your heart and not your garments", and Jesus's teaching about praying and fasting without show. A short sermon reflects on repentance and the shape of Lent ahead.
- The imposition of ashes.Worshippers come forward, and the priest or minister marks each forehead with an ash cross, saying words such as "Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return; turn away from sin and be faithful to Christ." The ash is made by burning the palm crosses kept from the previous year's Palm Sunday, mixed with a little oil.
- Confession and silence. The liturgy makes generous room for quiet. In the Church of England, Common Worship provides a penitential litany for the day; in Roman Catholic parishes the ashes are given at Mass.
- Communion. In Catholic and most Anglican churches the service includes Holy Communion; in other traditions it may end simply with prayer and a blessing. See our guide to Communion if it is unfamiliar.
Which UK churches keep Ash Wednesday?
Roman Catholic parishes keep the day universally; it is also a day of fasting and abstinence from meat for Catholics. The Church of England, the Church in Wales, the Scottish Episcopal Church and the Church of Ireland all provide full liturgies for the day, and cathedral services can be particularly beautiful. Methodist and United Reformed congregations increasingly hold Ash Wednesday services too, sometimes jointly with Anglican neighbours through Churches Together. Baptist, Pentecostal and independent churches generally do not observe it, though some mark the start of Lent in their own way. A few town-centre churches now offer "ashes to go" at railway stations and markets for passers-by who cannot make a service.
Do I have to be a member, or even a believer?
No. Receiving the ashes is open to anyone who comes forward; it is not a sacrament with conditions attached but a public admission of something true of every human being. Many people find it one of the easiest services to slip into as a newcomer, precisely because the mood is quiet and nobody is performing. If you would rather watch than receive, simply stay in your seat; no one will mind.
Frequently asked questions
Should I wipe the ash off afterwards?
As you wish. Some wear it through the day, back to the office or the school run; others wash it off before leaving the church porch. Jesus told his followers not to parade their fasting, but wearing a cross given in worship is not parading. There is no rule either way.
What do people give up for Lent?
Chocolate, alcohol and social media top the modern British list, but Lent can equally mean taking something on: daily Bible reading, a Lent course at church, or a standing gift to a food bank. Our guide to Lent covers the season in full.
Is Ash Wednesday a bank holiday?
No. It is an ordinary working day in the UK, which is why churches schedule early, lunchtime and evening services around it.