Ash Wednesday and Detox

First things first: happy Ash Wednesday y'all! I hope you've all had a very pleasant (totally insane) Carnaval/Mardi Gras/Mardival and, if you are Catholic, are all ready to quit smoking or quit meat or quit chocolate or quit porn or whatever it is you're giving up this year. (Also, can anyone explain to me exactly why there are ashes involved? What do they represent exactly?) As for me & Boyf