# How Does The Priest Prepare The Ashes For Ash Wednesday? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 2, 2017, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-the-priest-prepare-the-ashes-for-ash-wednesday/781210 "2017-03-02T16:27:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![HeyHomie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heyhomie/32/207_2.png) [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2017, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-the-priest-prepare-the-ashes-for-ash-wednesday/781210/1 "2017-03-02T16:27:54Z")
I understand that he uses last year’s Palm Sunday palm fronds, but is there a ceremony or something? Or does he just bust out the Aim-a-Flame and burn them and go from there? ---
**Author:** ![Skammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skammer/32/143_2.png) [@Skammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skammer)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2017, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-the-priest-prepare-the-ashes-for-ash-wednesday/781210/2 "2017-03-02T16:57:42Z")
I can only speak regarding the traditions in the Episcopal Church (USA). There is no liturgy in the Book of Common Prayer regarding the burning of the palms for Ash Wednesday. Using the ashes of last year’s Palm Sunday service is not even required, although it is traditional. Basically the celebrant (priest) has wide latitude in obtaining the ashes. In my previous parish, the priests would save some palms after the Palm Sunday service and, some time before Ash Wednesday, burn them in a little metal container. Often a little bit of consecrated oil is added to keep the ashes from being too dusty to work with. This year, we had a church pancake dinner/mardi gras celebration on Tuesday, and after dinner the priest took all the kids outside and had a little palm-burning ceremony. I didn’t stay for it, so I’m not sure what kind of prayers she used (if any). But, the answer to your question (regarding the Episcopal Church, at least) is that there is no official ceremony and it’s left up to however the priest wants to do it as far as I can tell. ---
**Author:** ![Channing\_Idaho\_Banks](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/channing_idaho_banks/32/250_2.png) [@Channing\_Idaho\_Banks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Channing_Idaho_Banks)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2017, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-the-priest-prepare-the-ashes-for-ash-wednesday/781210/3 "2017-03-02T17:06:34Z")
Palm burning ceremony? That’s gotta hurt. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2017, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-the-priest-prepare-the-ashes-for-ash-wednesday/781210/4 "2017-03-02T17:08:47Z")
I asked our pastor about giving my palms back to be made into ashes but he said they order their ashes in. I’ve got a bunch of palms so I will have to ask my friends to burn them in their woodstove. [http://www.concordiasupply.com/Church-Supplies/Palm-Ash](http://www.concordiasupply.com/Church-Supplies/Palm-Ash) ---
**Author:** ![naita](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naita/32/5862_2.png) [@naita](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/naita)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2017, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-the-priest-prepare-the-ashes-for-ash-wednesday/781210/5 "2017-03-02T17:29:49Z")
Well he should avoid doing what a Norwegian minister did last year. He mixed birch wood ashes from his stove with a bit of water, not realising that he was creating lye. Not too caustic, but enough to give all the receiving parishoners a light cross shaped chemical burn in the middle of their forehead. ---
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2017, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-the-priest-prepare-the-ashes-for-ash-wednesday/781210/6 "2017-03-02T18:54:47Z")
> [@Skammer](#): > > Often a little bit of consecrated oil is added to keep the ashes from being too dusty to work with. So, you have to grease a few palms, eh? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Lasciel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e79b87/32.png) [@Lasciel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lasciel)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2017, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-the-priest-prepare-the-ashes-for-ash-wednesday/781210/7 "2017-03-02T21:23:05Z")
My (very modern in some ways) Lutheran church was similar, as was the more conservative/traditional church my grandparents attended. The palms that were on the altar and used at the front of the church were stored all year in a cardboard box and similarly to Skammer’s experience there’s a little ‘ceremony’ before church service on Ash Wednesday morning where the palms are lit from a taper which was in turn lit from the ‘eternal flame’ candle and then the burnt fronds are mashed up with some holy oil in a pestle and stored there for the service. I don’t remember how the extra ashes were discarded or cleared out, but I know that the pastor divvied the pile up after church so that the elders (deacons maybe?) could take them round to the homebound or nursing homes or people who couldn’t get out of work on a Wednesday. I do also remember that if people still had their little lapel palms from last year they were highly encouraged to put them in also, but I don’t remember anyone bringing big palm branches in. ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2017, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-the-priest-prepare-the-ashes-for-ash-wednesday/781210/8 "2017-03-02T21:49:20Z")
My wife is not a priest, but she is a Lutheran pastor, and she bought the ashes online. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2017, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-the-priest-prepare-the-ashes-for-ash-wednesday/781210/9 "2017-03-02T21:56:33Z")
> [@Skammer](#): > > Basically the celebrant (priest) has wide latitude in obtaining the ashes… > > But, the answer to your question (regarding the Episcopal Church, at least) is that there is no official ceremony and it’s left up to however the priest wants to do it as far as I can tell. [Handing the priest an urn] This is my mom. Please use her for Ash Wednesday. (It beats my original thought, which was human sacrifice. 😃 ) ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2017, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-the-priest-prepare-the-ashes-for-ash-wednesday/781210/10 "2017-03-02T23:46:12Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > My wife is not a priest, but she is a Lutheran pastor, and she bought the ashes online. > > Regards, > Shodan Made in China? ---
**Author:** ![Alley\_Dweller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alley_dweller/32/430_2.png) [@Alley\_Dweller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alley_Dweller)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2017, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-the-priest-prepare-the-ashes-for-ash-wednesday/781210/11 "2017-03-03T00:44:29Z")
You can buy anything on [amazon.com](http://amazon.com) [Ashes for 100 People](https://www.amazon.com/Church-Supply-Warehouse-ASH100-People/dp/B00HQOCU7O/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1488501549&sr=8-1&keywords=ash+wednesday) Price: $2.88 + $5 shipping Note: Not eligible for Amazon Prime. Customer reviews indicate that the buyers are very happy with their purchases. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2017, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-the-priest-prepare-the-ashes-for-ash-wednesday/781210/12 "2017-03-03T20:10:37Z")
I was looking around at on-line suppliers when finding the Concordia Supply link above and found an article about a church supply place and how they make the ashes. It’s a place that sells palms anyway so they take the palm trunks and burn them. I thought the ashes HAD to be made from blessed palms but I guess I never thought about how that would work, since I’ve never seen the option to send my palms anywhere. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2017, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-the-priest-prepare-the-ashes-for-ash-wednesday/781210/13 "2017-03-03T21:21:02Z")
> [@Channing\_Idaho\_Banks](#): > > Palm burning ceremony? That’s gotta hurt. Gotta get the hair off somehow. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2017, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-the-priest-prepare-the-ashes-for-ash-wednesday/781210/14 "2017-03-03T21:48:02Z")
> [@Alley\_Dweller](#): > > You can buy anything on [amazon.com](http://amazon.com) > > [Ashes for 100 People](https://www.amazon.com/Church-Supply-Warehouse-ASH100-People/dp/B00HQOCU7O/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1488501549&sr=8-1&keywords=ash+wednesday) > Price: $2.88 + $5 shipping > Note: Not eligible for Amazon Prime. > > Customer reviews indicate that the buyers are very happy with their purchases. I initially read that as “Ashes _of_ 100 People.” ---
**Author:** ![purplehorseshoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/purplehorseshoe/32/2996_2.png) [@purplehorseshoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehorseshoe)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2017, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-the-priest-prepare-the-ashes-for-ash-wednesday/781210/15 "2017-03-05T20:08:12Z")
> [@Alley\_Dweller](#): > > You can buy anything on [amazon.com](http://amazon.com) > > [Ashes for 100 People](https://www.amazon.com/Church-Supply-Warehouse-ASH100-People/dp/B00HQOCU7O/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1488501549&sr=8-1&keywords=ash+wednesday) > Price: $2.88 + $5 shipping > Note: Not eligible for Amazon Prime. > > Customer reviews indicate that the buyers are very happy with their purchases. Now I’m torn. I got the amusement of reading reviews implying that there are other, inferior quality ashes on the public market. On the other hand, my Amazon “recommended based on your browsing history” suggestions are about to get WEIRD. ---
**Author:** ![MacSpon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/34f0e0/32.png) [@MacSpon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MacSpon)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2017, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-the-priest-prepare-the-ashes-for-ash-wednesday/781210/16 "2017-03-06T02:44:54Z")
In our (Anglican) church, everyone who wants one is given a little cross on Palm Sunday, made from lengths of flax knotted together. On the following year’s Ash Wednesday, those who have kept their crosses from the previous year can bring them in. They are burned during the service, and the ashes are mixed with oil. We usually combine with the local Catholic church for Ash Wednesday, for what it’s worth, so the service is led by both a vicar and a priest, more or less alternating lines. (They alternate years for who gives the sermon.) It’s rather nice, I think. ---
**Author:** ![Cartooniverse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cartooniverse/32/3084_2.png) [@Cartooniverse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cartooniverse)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2017, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-the-priest-prepare-the-ashes-for-ash-wednesday/781210/17 "2017-03-06T22:31:02Z")
> [@Channing\_Idaho\_Banks](#): > > Palm burning ceremony? That’s gotta hurt. " That’ll keep ya from masturbating there, Timmy and Sally !! " Episcopalian in NYC checking in here. We kept forgetting to bring them in, so I did check with one of our priests the day before Ash Wednesday. Was it too late? She said nope, drop em by. And so I did. Far as I know, also no specific ritual or prayers. ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2017, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-the-priest-prepare-the-ashes-for-ash-wednesday/781210/18 "2017-03-07T17:06:26Z")
My pastor, Lutheran, says he makes our ashes by burning palm fronds and a little paper. I thought he got them from our columbarium.