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In the Catholic and other churches Ash Wednesday is the beginning of Lent and at Mass or other service, ashes are placed on the foreheads of parishioners in the form of a cross. This is a ancient ritual to remind us that we are "dust" and is a public statement of repentance. The ashes are obtained from burned palms from the previous year's Palm Sunday palms distributed to the people
Lent is the annual preparation for the observance of Easter "calling us to reform our lives and to open our hearts to the blessings God has promised to bestow on us. It begins with Ash Wednesday and ends on Holy Thursday evening when the Triduum begins" (i.e. Last of Holy Thursday, Good Friday, Holy Saturday and Easter Sunday.") It lasts about 6 weeks or 40 days not counting Sundays*
*I have borrowed parts of the above text from "Lent: The Basics Ⓒ 2020 by All Saints Press, St. Louis, MO and AllSaintsPress.com"
