SCRANTON -- Today is Ash Wednesday, marking the start of Lent.
The faithful received ashes this morning at St. Peter’s Cathedral in Scranton and in Christian churches throughout the area.
The ashes are a sign of the person's mortality and come from palms burned after last year's Palm Sunday.
In Luzerne County, dozens attended the service at St. Paul's Evangelical Lutheran Church on Route 309 in Mountain Top.
The season of Lent leads up to Easter, which falls on March 31 this year.