Ash Wednesday, which falls this year on 17th February, marks the beginning of the season of Lent. We use these weeks before Easter Day as a time of preparation, which is usually marked by learning, prayer and reflection, and self-examination. It is customary for those who attend church on Ash Wednesday to have the sign of the cross marked on their foreheads in ash, accompanied by the words, 'remember you are dust, and to dust you shall return. Turn away from sin and be faithful to Christ'.