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Ash Wednesday Rituals Tweaked for Coronavirus as Christians Are Reminded of Death

posted on February 17, 2021

The Washington Post’s Sarah Pulliam Bailey reports that this Ash Wednesday will look remarkably different than years past, in light of the pandemic. The Christian ritual typically consists of a minister or priest placing ashes on one’s forehead in the shape of a cross, accompanied by the reminder that “you are from dust and unto dust you shall return.” Esau McCaulley, a biblical scholar at Wheaton college, said, “To remember you’re going to die isn’t going to have the shock when you have the context of half a million people have died.” Some churches are instituting socially distanced ways for members to receive their ashes and mark the holiday.

Read at The Washington Post