Ash Wednesday facts for kids

Ash Wednesday is the first day of Lent in the Western Christian calendar. It occurs 46 days before Easter. The date is different each year because the date of Easter varies. It can fall as early as February 4 and as late as March 10.

Those able to and willing to should fast voluntarily between Ash Wednesday and Easter. There are exceptions, though. Pregnant women, sick people, children, and the old usually don't have to.

Ash Wednesday is a very important part of Lent.

Dates

The dates of Ash Wednesday are:

	2000	March 8
	2001	February 28
	2002	February 14
	2003	March 5
	2004	February 25
	2005	February 9
	2006	March 1
	2007	February 21
	2008	February 6
	2009	February 25
	2010	February 17
	2011	March 9
	2012	February 22
	2013	February 13
	2014	March 5
	2015	February 18
	2016	February 10
	2017	March 1
	2018	February 14
	2019	March 6
	2020	February 26
	2021	February 17
	2022	March 2
	2023	February 22
	2024	February 14
	2025	March 5
	2026	February 18
	2027	February 10
	2028	March 1
	2029	February 14
	2030	March 6

Related pages

Images for kids

A woman receives a cross of ashes on Ash Wednesday outside an Episcopal church
A priest marks a cross of ashes on a worshipper's forehead, the prevailing form in English-speaking countries.
An Episcopal priest has an Ashes to Go station for commuters at the Metro-North Railroad in the American state of Connecticut
The chancel of Palmer Memorial Episcopal Church on Ash Wednesday 2015 (the veiled altar cross and purple paraments are customary during Lent)
An 1881 Polish painting of a Roman Catholic priest sprinkling ashes on the heads of worshippers, the form prevailing in, for instance, Italy, Spain, and parts of Latin America.
A Lutheran pastor distributes ashes to a communicant during a Divine Service
On Ash Wednesday in 2016, two Episcopal priests distribute ashes to passerby in the American city of Boca Raton as part of the Ashes to Go movement
Ash Wednesday by Carl Spitzweg: the end of Carnival
Pastor Brian King distributes ashes during the Holy Mass at Nazareth Evangelical Lutheran Church in Cedar Falls, Iowa on Ash Wednesday (2017)
The Rev. Thomas Farmer distributing ashes to confirmands kneeling at the chancel rails of Keystone United Methodist Church on Ash Wednesday (2016)