Matthew: 6:16 "When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show others they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. 17 But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, 18 so that it will not be obvious to others that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.
"Instituted with a good intention, for the sake of good order.
"In the pre-Christian Norse religion the laying of ashes was meant to grant the Norse God Odin’s protection using ashes meant to represent Sigurd–the ashes of Sigurd contained the blood of Fafnir and would protect a Viking warrior in battle. When the Vikings raided coastal towns in western and Mediterranean Europe they brought their beliefs and practices with them, included the laying of ashes on a Wednesday–Odin‘s Day–which the Christian Church appropriated. Wednesday continued to be used as the day of the laying of ashes. "http://www.allyngibson.com/?p=969
Contrast that with the heartbeat of Christ - the very salvation of our souls through His Gospel of grace.
Not related. Here is the opening of the LCMS explanation of Ash Wednesday.
The Ash Wednesday Gospel (Matthew 6) speaks against disfiguring faces to show others that you are fasting. People sometimes mistakenly think that's what the ashes for which Ash Wednesday is named are all about. Wrong.
The ashes are put on with the words from Genesis 3: "Remember, O Man, that you are dust, and unto dust you shall return." The ashes show not fasting, but DYING. They are sign not of practicing piety, but of the rock bottom reality of life in a fallen world. They announce to us: "I am dying...and so are you."
About the Norse religion... There are so many ideas and theories about Christians stealing from pagans, often contradictory, that any assertion is just plain meaningless. This is adiaphora, not Gospel and not theology.
Contrast that with the heartbeat of Christ - the very salvation of our souls through His Gospel of grace.
What contrast? No one says that Ash Wednesday is necessary for salvation.