Ah, Ash Wednesday. It was the first day of Lent, and also the first day of not letting chocolate pass your lips for 40 days.

Yes, we all hated it as kids (mainly because all the Nutella was thrown out of the house), but you also disliked it because it was the day you got black ash smudged all over your forehead.

So, if you went to a Catholic school, here are six things you'll remember about Ash Wednesday:

1. You really hated the black smudges

Especially when you got older and started wearing make-up. It was sooo not a good look.

 

2. But there were small benefits

If the priest came into your school on Ash Wednesday or you had to go to mass, that meant you'd be out of class for at least an hour, and hey, it beats doing school work, right?

 

3. There was always one

There was always one badass Catholic school girl that refused to go up to the priest and get ashes. You always wished you had her guts.

 

4. But, God love you if you went home without them

Your mother would kill you. And then drag you to a two hour mass just so you could get smelly black ash on your head. Not worth it.

 

5. Things changed when you got older

If you met up with the lads after school, the bathrooms would be FULL of girls scraping the ashes off their heads… while also applying ten layers of foundation (which wasn't a good look either).

 

6. And after all these years…

You're still not really sure why you have to get ashes on your forehead. (Apparently, it's because we have to "repent, and believe in the Gospel."