Ash Wednesday: Another Non-biblical Holiday
Today, billions of Catholics around the world are walking around with ashes on their faces as part of Ash Wednesday. Growing up Catholic, I, too, partook in this practice. I never really understood it and always tried to attend mass at night so I wouldn’t have to walk around all day with black ashes on my face. Because it does look a bit ridiculous.
What is Ash Wednesday?
Ash Wednesday marks the first day of Lent. And, traditionally, people attend mass and the priest (or his helpers) rubs ashes on a person’s forehead in the sign of the cross. They get the ashes from burning the palms from the previous year’s Palm Sunday. Since it marks the beginning of Lent, 40 (plus) days later, they celebrate Easter Sunday. Throughout lent, those who celebrate lent – Catholics, Anglicans, Episcopalians, Presbyterians, Methodists, Lutherans, and other Protestant denominations – are supposed to repent and deny themselves of certain foods. Growing up, I was not allowed to eat meat on Ash Wednesdays or Fridays throughout Lent. Nowadays, I often hear people giving up other things, like sugar or listening to music or coffee.
Is Ash Wednesday biblical?
Ash Wednesday is supposed to prepare people to remember Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross. But guess what? Ash Wednesday is not in the Bible. Jesus never kept Ash Wednesday and neither did the apostles of the Early Church. If this “holy day” is a “Christian” ritual to remember Christ, then how come none of the disciples kept it after Jesus ascended to heaven? I’ve never read about Apostle Paul or John teaching in his letters to the churches about burning ashes and putting it on their foreheads.
Modern day churches use the words of the Bible and twist them to fit their own doctrines. In this case, they use the words of the prophets in the Old Testament and take them completely out of context. Back then, the Israelite people poured ashes over their head as a sign of repentance. But does that mean we should make up our own “holy” day and pour ashes over our head nowadays? If that’s the case, then we should also sacrifice a lamb and paint its blood on the doorframes to our houses because that’s what the Israelites did in the Old Testament every year on the Passover.
Revelation 22:18 And I solemnly declare to everyone who hears the words of prophecy written in this book: If anyone adds anything to what is written here, God will add to that person the plagues described in this book.
Christ sternly warned us not to add to the Bible. It is not biblical or Christian-like for churches to make up their own doctrines and teachings and lead billions of people into following it thinking they are following God.
Where did Ash Wednesday come from?
The Church in Rome was the first to become secularized. And after the Early Church was completely secular, it was no longer keeping the original teachings Christ established. The Passover and the Sabbath, which Christ showed the example of keeping, were abolished. The church began to introduce pagan teachings to keep the Roman Empire united.
Sunday worship and the keeping of Easter were pagan traditions. Many have even tied Ash Wednesday to pagan traditions as well. There are traces to the Nordic pagan religion of putting ashes over one’s brows to ensure the protection of the Nordic god, Odin. This spread to Europe and the practice we conducted on Wednesdays since it was Odin’s Day. The practice is also traced back to the Vedic Indian religion. The Indian fire god, Agni, was believed to forgive sins.
So, if you’re actually interested in following Christ, do so according to the Bible. That’s why God left the Bible. We cannot blindly follow the church without questioning its practices. Christ Himself said that everything He did was an example for us. Then we must do the things that He did.
It saddens me that people distort the truth in the bible. God said do not add or takeaway because all we need to do is follow what is written in the scripture. I hope many people will realize the false teachings of many churches and follow the true Church of God.
Wow this article is perfect because I was looking into the origin Of Ash Wednesday and where it came from so that I can show my family about it. I was able to understand the there are so many things are “customs” but in reality are not in the Bible. I want to continue to know more about what else is needed to receive salvation.
It is so clear to understand that this day is not from the bible. I hope people also can come to understand this correctly. That way they are not following wrong practices.
Growing up, seeing this always seemed weird and accidental because traditionally no one walks around with ashes on their head. So from that time I always wondered why and what’s the reason. Now I’m really grateful to have understanding of this strange tradition not coming from Christ.
Thanks so Much for Posting this Article,
It doesn’t seem to surprise me that The roman catholic church seems to just accept every pagan ritual and calls it holy, but the fact that other religions keep it as well let’s us know, if the First button on the Shirt is wrong no matter how much you tuck it in it looks ridiculous.. Thanks To GOD For the TRUTH.. Amazing!!
Thank you for posting this. I didn’t grow up religious so I never understood the reason for Ash Wednesday. Now I know there is really no Christian reason for it at all. I’m grateful for this info because it helps teach to not follow what others do just because they’re doing it.
Wow I’m happy that I was able to read this article because like most people I want to follow God correctly and not be misled by religious leaders that add to the Bible. I want to practice the true teaching of God like the Passover that leads to Eternal Life, the Sabbath that Jesus kept, and all of the feast of God that Jesus directed us to keep. Thank You for sharing and helping me remember I must only follow God and not traditions because after realizing where these traditions come from is scary; I feel sad that so many people follow these teachings not knowing that they don’t come from God and are not biblical at all!
It’s true! I always wondered why that practice exists, but now that I learned the truth taught by Jesus Christ. I can see that has nothing to do with the commandments of God. I’m so happy to know the origin of this so I can share it with others.
I really like the last couple sentences about following Christ and not blindly following the norm. I hope others realize the falsehood in churches now a days and come to the true Elohim God!
This makes things so clear. I grew up Baptist and did not understand why people walked around with ashes on their head and why my church at that time did not. But since studying the Bible with the Church of God, I learned why there are so many false teachings and empty traditions. I really hope more people can come to understand the truth so they can follow God according to the Bible and receive God’s promise.
I was very confused about why people marked with ash on their foreheads would appear here and there. It’s interesting to find that the church was responsible, yet the practice is not even a teaching of the Bible. That being said, taking part in “ash Wednesday” doesn’t bring anyone closer to God but it does quite the opposite. Knowing this, I would like to share this truth along with many other truths about the Bible to those not realizing what they follow is not God but man-made teachings from the church.
Our society blindly follows the traditions of their ancestors. There is only 1 Bible but so many different denominations. We have to press on to learn about God our creator.
Family traditions and pleasing men cannot grant us salvation. Christ warned us numerous times in regards to not learning the ways of the nations (Jer 10:2).
Wow, Ash Wednesday is terribly gross. I didn’t realize they take dirt from previous years and place it on their foreheads. Truly that is not a place of cleanliness. Thank God for coming in this age to teach us the true way of repentance and salvation.
Making up false holy days is already too much, but when we find out that they’re actually originally pagan festivals it’s all the more shameful. Thank you for posting the article.
Wow love this article! I can’t wait to show my family and friends so they can better understand that this tradition, amongst many others, is not biblical
Wow truly thanks to God for this wisdom and correct way of thinking! Great read!
….. I am so sad that many people really think they are following God by doing all those things from pagan religion. I can’t wait to let all people know about the truth!!
Wow! I knew there was something strange about it but had no idea it actually has pagan origins. I’m truly so thankful To God Elohim for allowing me to realize and understand the truth from falsehood, And allowing me to go to the church of God which follows God correctly and the true law that leads to Eternal Life!
Wow! I never knew why Ash Wednesday ever happened, and I had no idea it wasn’t biblical. I’m so glad to have read this so we can help save souls from darkness!
I feel so sorry for the people and the children who undergo this thinking it is a true act of righteousness when it is so far from the truth.
I hope the ones who are earnest for Gods salvation and love hear the truth soon and leave such detestable and worthless practices. It is a sin against God to create our own “holy” days as the article pointed out, “do not add or take away” from God’s words and plan.
I honestly never understood the reason for Ash Wednesday, or why I was told I could not eat meat. It’s clear now that it had nothing to do with my salvation. Thankful to understand what I should do and what I should not do in order to follow God.
Wow! This is so true! Thanks to God for showing us the truth about this pagan custom. We have to believe and obey the teachings of God. No matter what people say about those customs we have to follow the examples that Christ did 2,000 years ago so that God can save us.
Thank you for this article. Jesus Himself said:
Jn13:15 “I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you” And also 1Tim 4:1″In later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons…. they forbid people to marry and order them to abstain from certain foods..”
All we need to do is follow what Jesus and the disciples kept, if we follow other teachings, how can we call ourselves Chirstians?
Oh wow. I had no idea that Ash Wednesday originated from paganism.
I’m looking forward to sharing this with my friends and family that are unaware of this teaching.
Thanks for sharing the article!
Thank you for Sharing! I hope many people will get to read this article, realize the truth behind this pagan custom, and come to the Church of God to receive the true mark of salvation.
Wow, I did not know this. It is so important to know what we celebrate. As a child, I never understood the purpose of ash wednesday and just recognized catholics by the ash crosses on their foreheads. It was a little scary. They did the same at my old presbyterian church.
I am so thankful that God gives us second chances to worship correctly and know the truth of such deceptive practices. I need to study the Bible more so that my family and I may have the true faith needed to please God and go to Heaven!!! 🙂
Wow!! In the Bible, there is the law of life that Christ establish and the law of death. Definitely, Ash Wednesday is not the Law of life from God. Everything is only customs and traditions that at the end don’t give us salvation. Let’s keep the Passover of the New covenant the law of life and receive salvation 🙂
I always thought it was so weird growing up when I’d see people with ash on their faces. I wasn’t Catholic so didn’t really understand what it was about until I was older. When someone told me about it I thought it seemed nice (although it looked weird), I thought it was good to sacrifice and devote to God like that. But after I started studying the Bible myself it’s really plain to see that we can not make up our own teachings. Every example in the Bible shows that obedience to God is better than sacrifice, whenever people made up their own holiday or festival they didn’t meet a good end. Rather than making up and following our own customs, let’s just do what Christ and the apostles did so we know for sure we’re doing it right and that God will be pleased.
Wow, so many traditions of man so deeply ingrained in people’s heart when it should be God’s commands that should be there. Thank God for his words of eternal life!
Wow, I am glad this was explained because it is something that many are unaware of. It is very similar to how Christians keep holy Sunday worship, as it was a tradition adapted from sun god religion, but don’t think twice about it. It seems that as time passes, things become socially acceptable even though they are not biblically acceptable. Thanks for this understanding. More keep are now seeing the way to follow God according to the Bible once again.
Awesome post! I somehow always knew Ash Wednesday wasn’t in the Bible but whenever I questioned and asked people why they participate in that and put ashes on their head… or if the practice was actually in the Bible no one was able to answer me. Thank you for shedding light on the fact that “ash wednesday” and “lent” have no biblical reference and are in no way a teaching of Christ.
Thanks for sharing this article. I knew that this was not biblical but I am glad to be informed as to where it originated. Now others can distinguish between what is true and what is false.
I wasn’t shocked when I learned that Ash Wednesday and lent were not in the bible. I was shocked to learn the origin was from Pagan customs. Without even realizing it people are participating in sun worship. I really hope this article informs many people.
Oh my, this is one thing that I never could understand why people do. I use to belong to a Protestant church years ago but didn’t participate in Ash Wednesday because I didn’t understand why people did it nor did I find it religious. But now after reading this article I see this was adopted from the pagans just like many of other teachings. We have to let many people know the will of God so people can be freed from satans deception.
I used to be Catholic and participated in all these holidays thinking I was coming closer to God but in reality going away from God. It’s good to be set freed from these laws that do not lead to life. When you look in the Bible you can see the feasts of God like the sabbath Passover Feast of Unleavened bread Firstfruits feast of Weeks feast of Trumpet Feast of Tabernacles that lead to life. This is amazing to not just believe in God but to truly come close to God through Gods commentments.
I knew something was up with this “Ash Wednesday”. Growing up Episcopalian, my family would put ashes on their foreheads this day and I would leave the church so confused! I like how the article pointed out that Christians are taught, ” Because the Israelite people put ashes on their heads and repented. . .”. This is another case of people making their own rules and regulations. There is nothing in the bible regarding this. I knew it!
Growing up, I always wondered “where was the putting ashes on your forehead in the Bible”? I knew it was not biblical, but never understood its origin and why do most Christians nowadays participate. This goes to show how Christians embrace human traditions and customs in “Christian churches” and many people cling to these human commands and customs even when they know it’s not biblical. How sad to see that many people in this world are being deceived. God already warned us through many prophets “do NOT learn the ways of the nations..their practices are worthless” (rf. Jerm 10:1-8). If we want to be assured of our faith and that we are doing right in the eyes of God, we must study and make sure the teachings we follow come directly from the Bible, not from a man’s mouth.
Wow, this post is awesome! Unfortunately nowadays many people follow pagan customs and traditions without even knowing it. It’s so easy not to question. However the only way to follow God correctly is through the Bible. I hope through this website and these articles, people are able to see the difference between truth and falsehood, and choose to be on the side of truth!
Great Article – People continue to persecute the Church of God instead of examining what they follow, which is not even in the Bible. Ashes=death and people put it on their foreheads, makes no sense – The only mark we should have on our foreheads is the Seal of God.
This was a very good article . It is full of information and brings up a great point. That being said, we should never ever ever blindly follow a church and its teachings without seeing the origins of them. According to this article, people are following traditions rooting in pagan tradition. The sad thing is they think they are following God when in reality they are not at all. Let us be more concerned about our salvation and following the teachings that Chirst gave as an example for us. As we should follow all the examples of Christ. Likewise, we should attend the church that does the same. The world Mission Society Church of God is the only church that follows the bible and teachings of Chirst 100%. Please join us soon for a study.
I, too, always wondered about this particularly estrange practice in the church! I was raised Catholic and I saw this every year, through the grace of God I never really took part of it, but I saw it, and it seemed to me, both weird and normal, because it was something everyone did every year, specially if you were a devote catholic or christian and weird because it never made any sense to me whatsoever. Now I understand why it never made sense, because it does not come from God and it is no where to be found in the bible! I hope more people get to see this article and understand what comes from the God and the Bible and what doesn’t.
It is so sad that a day that’s not even in the Bible is being disguised as a day of blessing. The only mark I want is the seal of God! Not anything else. I heard there were two marks in the Bible that go on our foreheads…so I wonder if this is not the seal of God being that it’s not Biblical what type of mark is it?…
It is so sad to me the traditions and rituals that today’s Christians establish and follow that have no root to the Bible. What is even more sad is that they feel they will be blessed by following these practices. As the article mentioned, this practice is not found anywhere in the Bible and it therefore doesn’t allow you to receive ANY blessings from God. This is why it is so important to study the Bible with the church that actually follows all of the will of God, the Church of God, because there is so much falsehood and worship that is done in vain! There are so many examples in the Bible that displays that God doesn’t receive the worship or bless those that create their own ways to worship God.
This is so informative! I’m so glad his article was written because I know for a fact that Ash Wednesday is not even close to biblical and I never cared to learn the history behind this none sense tradition, but now I can send this to my catholic family members who are religiously participating in this. So sad 🙁
Thank you so much for sharing this. I will be able to help others realize this pagan custom and help them turn to the bible to understand the path that Christ left for us to follow.
That was a very revealing article. From the time I was a child I always wondered about where this practice came from. I had a feeling that it was not biblical but this article reveals the roots of this tradition. It’s really amazing that many people still continue to follow this tradition without looking into the history behind it.
Amen! That was a great read. Let’s enlighten the whole world about the falsehood Christians are practicing. Then they can come to keep the commands Jesus taught us in the Bible!