why do people have black crosses on their forehead

Many people with a black cross on their forehead are taking part in a Christian tradition called Ash Wednesday , which marks the start of the Lent season before Easter.

What the black cross actually is

• It is usually a smudge or cross of ashes placed on the forehead during a church service.

• A priest or pastor dips a thumb in ashes and makes the sign of the cross while saying words like “Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return.”

• The ashes often come from burned palm branches from the previous year’s Palm Sunday.

What it means

• It is a sign of repentance (saying sorry to God and trying to change) and humility.

• It reminds Christians of human mortality — that life is temporary and people eventually “return to dust.”

• It also marks the beginning of Lent , a 40‑day period (not counting Sundays) of prayer, self‑denial, or “giving something up” before Easter.

Is it only Catholics?

• It is most visible in Roman Catholic communities, but many Protestants and other Western Christians also do it.

• Some Christian traditions (for example, many Eastern Orthodox churches) do not typically use the ash cross, which is why some Christians have never seen it in their own country.

Why you might suddenly see lots of them

• Ash Wednesday is a single day each year; people may go to church before work, during lunch, or in the evening, then go about their day still wearing the ashes.

• This is why, on that day, you might notice many people in public spaces with a dark or black‑looking cross on their foreheads, even though it is not a protest or a new trend.

Bottom note: Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.