Ash Wednesday Observance
Yesterday was Ash Wednesday. I remember this time eight years ago when I was very much a newcomer to Maynooth being quite surprised to see some folk wearing a cross marked in ash on their forehead as in the picture above. I think this practice is a tradition within the Roman Catholic Church, with which Maynooth has long historical associations, so it’s not really surprising to see it here. Having been brought up in Protestant England I had never seen this before moving to Ireland, but it doesn’t surprise me any more to see people with crosses on their foreheads. That said, I noticed very few around the place yesterday. The numbers observing this ritual seem to be declining every year. Perhaps if they want to increase its popularity they could zhuzh it up a bit: how about some glitter in the ash? Just a thought.
Apparently the tradition used to be for ashes to be sprinkled on the top of the head of a male worshipper but a cross to be made on the forehead of a woman because she would be expected to be wearing a hat. Based on a small sample of those I have observed it seems both genders wear the cross on the forehead nowadays.
Anyway, although I’m not a Christian myself, respect to all those observing the season of Lent (Quadragesima), whether that means fasting, devotional prayer, or just giving up luxuries, such as reading this blog perhaps.
P.S. I’m told that the normal rule for Lent is `One meal and two collations’. The word collation, in the sense of ‘light meal,’ comes from the title of John Cassian‘s early fifth-century work Collationes patrum in scetica eremo (Conferences with the Egyptian hermits), which was read in Benedictine communities before a light meal. I haven’t heard that English word for a while, but it has the same origin as the Italian colazione, used in prima colazione (breakfast).
In the Dark 
February 19, 2026 at 9:41 am
When I received the ashes (when a lad) the cross was never that clear. It always just looked like a smear on your forehead. (Also unfortunately in N Ireland it was a day of the year when it was easy to be identified as Catholic). It was applied with the priest saying ‘remember you are dust and unto dust you shall return’. Which didn’t seem a very nice thing to say to a child!