Ash Wednesday n. The first day of Lent; so called from a custom in the Roman Catholic church of putting ashes, on that day, upon the foreheads of penitents.
... the people—it was a frightful morning of Ash Wednesday, near Courtille. A cold fine rain had been falling since the evening before; the streets were covered with pools of water. Masked carriages filed hither and thither, crowding between hedges of hideous men and women ... — The Confession of a Child of The Century • Alfred de Musset
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