This is a past event

Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of the season of Lent in the Western Christian churches, the 40-day period of prayer, fasting, and repentance prepares Christians for Holy Week and Easter. Some Christians will receive a cross of ash on their foreheads at Ash Wednesday worship, signifying their mortality. The ashes are made by burning the palms used in the previous year's observance of Palm Sunday.

Description provided by Yale University Chaplain's Office