What is Ash Wednesday?

I was baptised Catholic when I was 30 years old along with my 13 year old daughter and my newborn son. I went through all of the classes...........some things I remember. But, in a nutshell, the ashes are from the palm leaves burned from the Palm Sunday celebration. Lent is for 40 days to symbolize the amount of time Jesus went into the wilderness and fasted to prepare for his ministry. We are supposed to do the same thing during those 40 days (reflect). The ashes on the forehead originally were a sign of remorse, repentance and mourning, that tradition continues. As I recall anyway..........

I'm not an expert but I know Ash Wednesday is the beginning of Easter and the ashes are the palms that were burned from Palm Sunday. It is a day of fasting for Catholics and is also the beginning of when Catholics give something up for 40 days (like refuse to eat chocolate if they love chocolate or something like that). That's about the most I know about it but I'm sure there's more to the history of Ash Wednesday.