http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ash_Wednesday
“Ashes are ceremonially placed on the heads of Christians on Ash Wednesday, either by being sprinkled over their heads or, in English-speaking countries, more often by being marked on their foreheads as a visible cross.”
http://www.ewtn.com/library/ANSWERS/ASH_WED.htm
Q: Why do they have their foreheads marked with a cross?
A: Because in the Bible a mark on the forehead is a symbol of a person’s ownership. By having their foreheads marked with the sign of a cross, this symbolizes that the person belongs to Jesus Christ, who died on a Cross.
If your priest isn’t making a sign of the cross when he puts the ashes on, he’d be the first one that I’ve ever heard of who didn’t do it.
So what is your point? In English speaking countries of my youth (NY, NY) a smudge was put on the forehead, not a cross. If you look at the photo included, you’ll see someone has a cross and another clearly has a smudge. Probably means two priests and two different ways of getting through the crowds. My parish didn’t do these crosses.
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That “cross” marks the four points of the sun, a tenet of sun god worship.
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