Ash Wednesday is the first day of the season of Lent that leads up to Good Friday and Easter. What to know about the day.

In 2024, Ash Wednesday arrived early in the season, falling on Feb. 14, which is also Valentine's Day. This year, in 2025, Ash Wednesday is recognized nearly a month later on Wednesday, March 5. The day also marks the beginning of Lent, which lasts 40 days, and ends on another Christian observance, Holy Thursday.

It's Mardi Gras and Fat Tuesday — time to kick off the 2025 Easter season, followed by Ash Wednesday which will give way to the start of the Lent. Unlike many other holidays, the dates of Easter holidays change every year.

The dates of the Jewish holiday of Passover are also based on a lunar calendar and change year to year. In 2025, Passover begins before sundown on Saturday, April 12, 2025, and ends after nightfall on April 20, 2025. Passover, or Pesach, commemorates the Israelites exodus from Egypt.

In 2025, Easter will be on April 20 this year. According to the Old Farmer’s Almanac, it is a “movable feast” that can happen between March 22 and April 25 on the Gregorian calendar. On the Julian calendar, used by the Eastern Orthodox Church, Easter can be between April 4 and May 8.

Ash Wednesday falls on Wednesday, March 5 this year. In Western churches, Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of Lent, a period of spiritual reflection before Easter. Lent runs through April 17, 2025. Palm Sunday, the first day of the Holy Week which commemorates Jesus Christ's entry to Jerusalem, is on Sunday, April 13, 2025.

Why is Easter 2025 so late this year? When is Easter Sunday date? What day does Lent start? What we know on Holy Week, Ash Wednesday, Good Friday and more.

Ash Wednesday kicks off the Lenten season next week. Here's what days to look for, leading up up to Good Friday and Easter Sunday.