where do ash wednesday ashes come from

Ash Wednesday ashes usually come from burning the blessed palm branches used on Palm Sunday the previous year, which are then ground into a fine powder and often mixed with a bit of holy water or oil to make a paste.

Quick Scoop: Where do Ash Wednesday ashes come from?

• Most churches save the palm branches blessed and handed out on Palm Sunday the year before.

• Because these palms are blessed, they can’t just be thrown away; one traditional and proper way to dispose of them is to burn them.

• The burned palms are crushed into a fine ash and, in many places (like the U.S.), mixed with holy water or chrism oil to form a paste that can be applied as a cross on the forehead.

• In some countries, instead of a paste on the forehead, the dry ashes are sprinkled on top of the head as a sign of repentance and mourning, echoing ancient biblical customs.

• If a parish cannot or does not burn its own palms, it is also acceptable for them to obtain prepared ashes from religious-goods suppliers that specialize in making palm ashes.

Why palms from Palm Sunday?

Using last year’s Palm Sunday palms ties together two key moments in the Christian calendar:

• Palm Sunday recalls Jesus’s entry into Jerusalem and happens right before his Passion and death.

• Ash Wednesday begins Lent, a season of repentance that leads back to Holy Week and Easter.

By turning Palm Sunday palms into Ash Wednesday ashes, churches create a symbolic loop: the same branches that celebrated Christ’s coming are burned into a reminder of human mortality and the call to “Repent and believe in the Gospel” or “Remember you are dust and to dust you shall return.”

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Wondering where do Ash Wednesday ashes come from? They’re traditionally made by burning last year’s blessed Palm Sunday palms, then using the ashes as a sign of repentance at the start of Lent.

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