Ash Wednesday: What the forehead mark symbolizes

The beginning of Lent has arrived.

Ash Wednesday, mainly observed by Catholics, is Feb. 18, 2015, and thus begins a 40-day period of fasting before Easter. The tradition points back to when Jesus Christ fasted for 40 days, as written in the book of Matthew in the Holy Bible.

Those unfamiliar with Lent may be curious about the ash cross marked on foreheads of Christians participating in Ash Wednesday. It is symbolic of the Bible verse Genesis 3:19, which reads, “For you were made from dust, and to dust you shall return.”

The ashes are usually made by burning palm fronds distributed on the Palm Sunday of the previous year. According to religionnews.com, clergy all over the world dispense the ashes on the foreheads and remind those receiving them of the Genesis verse.