Having no exposure to Catholic myth-followers when I was growing up, this really threw me when I did first see it around the time I was 17.. all sorts of ways to mark ourselves to display one's piety, from red-dots to ashy smudges.. holi festival looks like fun, though, don't know if that has a religious basis

Should be hash wednesday

People really do that? Seriously? I've never seen that. Ever.

I had to refrain from holding them down, licking my thumb and cleaning their foreheads while lecturing to them about their bathing skills.

Yep keep asking why do you have dirt on your forehead.

Keep wanting to tell people there is something smeared on their head

I can still remember have ashes up on my forehead.

Puts me in mind of Ash vs Evil Dead.

Brb...

In Western New York this was a common sight on Ash Wednesday. Now in Georgia, it is a rarity.

It's funny but when I was a Catholic I was taught not to wear my religion on my sleeve; it is a form of pride which is a sin. The last time I went to mass on ash Wednesday a partner in the firm was with me. I wiped the ashes off but went back to work ash headed. To some it is a badge.

Maybe we should start an ash day and have a big A on our foreheads.

Interesting.
I've never seen that.
I must not have been paying too much attention to them.