Why Ashes?

Somewhere between the sixth and eight centuries, the early church began to participate in Ash Wednesday. The ideas was that a Christian, as a sign of repentance, would sprinkle ashes on his or her head. This marks the "somber" season of Lent. A 40 day span of time from now until Easter (not including Sundays) where we focus on our battle with sin and ultimately Christ's victory over it.