Although Ash Wednesday and Lent aren’t officially part of the Easter Holiday they are inextricably linked. This is because Christian teachings reveal that at one point Jesus spent 40 days in the desert fasting and ignoring the temptations of Satan and the Lenten period now mirrors this.
Over this period of 46 days (40 days if you exclude Sundays), 6 weeks before Easter, Christians fast, give up vices or commit to some other form of penance in a show of respect and preparation. In Ireland this can range from serious commitments to small challenges such as giving up treats and chocolate.
Ash Wednesday kicks all of this off, is the first day of Lent and is named as such because Mass goers are blessed and marked (on the forehead) with a cross using the burnt ashes of palms used during the previous years Palm Sunday.