What is Holy Week?
- Palm Sunday – entrance into Jerusalem Holy Week begins with Palm Sunday, when Christians commemorate Jesus’ ‘triumphal entry’ into Jerusalem where the Gospels tell us he was greeted with crowds waving palm branches and crying ‘Hosanna! ...
- Holy Wednesday – into the darkness ...
- Maundy Thursday – the Last Supper ...
- Good Friday – Jesus’ agony on the cross ...
- Holy Saturday – visiting the tomb of Jesus ...
What are the names of the days of Holy Week?
- Palm Sunday: The last Sunday of the Lent is known as the Palm Sunday. ...
- The Holy Monday & Tuesday: Monday of the Holy Week is not a major feast. ...
- Spy Wednesday: On the Wednesday the tempo of the Holy Week increases. ...
- Easter Eve: The day following Good Friday is the Holy Saturday. ...
How many days are in the Holy Week?
Holy Week is a string of eight days that allow us an opportunity to reflect upon the shift in humanity Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross launched. It starts with Palm Sunday when Jesus enters the city...
What are the days of the Holy Week?
The entire week between Palm Sunday and Holy Saturday is included in Holy Week, and some church traditions have daily services during the week. However, usually only Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday, and Good Friday are times of special observance in most churches. Holy Week begins with the sixth Sunday in Lent.
What does each day of Holy Week mean?
Holy Week begins on Palm Sunday and culminates in the early morning hours of Easter Sunday. It's also the final week of Lent, which is the 6-week period of reflection before Easter. Christians observe Holy Week as a sacred memory of the events leading up to the crucifixion and death of Jesus Christ. Each day holds special meaning based on the actions of Jesus in his final hours.
What are the 4 days of Holy Week?
Here's a rundown of what it all means.Palm Sunday – entrance into Jerusalem. ... Holy Wednesday – into the darkness. ... Maundy Thursday – the Last Supper. ... Good Friday – Jesus' agony on the cross. ... Holy Saturday – visiting the tomb of Jesus.
What is Tuesday called in Holy Week?
Holy Tuesday, Fig Tuesday, or Great and Holy Tuesday (Ancient Greek: Μεγάλη Τρίτη, Megali Triti) (lit. 'Great Third (Day)', i.e., Great Tuesday), is a day of Holy Week, which precedes Easter.
What is Monday of Holy Week called?
Holy Monday or Great and Holy Monday (also Holy and Great Monday) (Greek: Μεγάλη Δευτέρα, Megale Deutera) is a day of the Holy Week, which is the week before Easter.
What is Saturday of Holy Week called?
Holy Saturday, also called Easter Vigil, Christian religious observance that ends the Lenten season, falling on the day before Easter Sunday. The observance commemorates the final day of Christ's death, which is traditionally associated with his triumphant descent into hell.
What is Wednesday in Holy Week called?
In Christianity, Holy Wednesday commemorates the Bargain of Judas as a clandestine spy among the disciples. It is also called Spy Wednesday, or Good Wednesday (in Western Christianity), and Great and Holy Wednesday (in Eastern Christianity).
What is the Thursday before Easter called?
Maundy Thursday, also called Holy Thursday or Sheer Thursday, the Thursday before Easter, observed in commemoration of Jesus Christ's institution of the Eucharist during the Last Supper.
What are the 7 days of Holy Week Catholic?
Holy Week (Latin: Hebdomada Sancta or Hebdomada Maior, lit. 'Greater Week'; Ancient Greek: Ἁγία καὶ Μεγάλη Ἑβδομάς, romanized: Hagia kai Megale Hebdomas, lit....Holy WeekObservancesPalm Sunday, Holy Monday, Holy Tuesday, Holy Wednesday, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, Holy Saturday and Easter SundayDateLast week of Lent8 more rows
What is Monday after Easter called?
Also known as Bright Monday, Renewal Monday, Wet Monday, and the Dyngus Day, there are different and interesting traditions surrounding the Monday that comes immediately after Easter Day.
What do Maundy means?
On its own, the word maundy means “the ceremony of washing the feet of the poor, especially commemorating Jesus' washing of His disciples' feet on Maundy Thursday.”
What is the day after Good Friday called?
Holy Saturday 2023Holy Saturday 2023 It is the day after Good Friday and the day before Easter Sunday. It is also known as Easter Eve, Easter Even, Black Saturday, or the Saturday before Easter. Holy Saturday commemorates the day that Jesus (sculpture of him pictured above) lay in his tomb after he died.
What is the Friday before Easter called?
Good FridayIt is the day when Christians commemorate Jesus Christ's crucifixion.
What is the Friday before Palm Sunday called?
The Friday of SorrowsThe Friday of Sorrows is a solemn pious remembrance of the sorrowful Blessed Virgin Mary on the Friday before Palm Sunday held in the fifth week of Lent (formerly called "Passion Week").
Why is it called Fig Tuesday?
The day is also known as Fig Tuesday as it commemorates the day Jesus returned to Jerusalem from Bethany, passing a barren fig tree on the way, which he used as an example to teach his disciples.
How do you celebrate Holy Tuesday?
The day is usually observed with readings of different passages, singing of Holy Tuesday hymns, and commemorating the important events that occurred on this day during Jesus' life.
Why is it called Passion Week?
Why is Holy Week also called Passion Week? Aside from representing strong emotion, the word 'passion' also stems from the Latin word 'passio', originally meaning 'to endure suffering'. Therefore, the Passion Week not only represents the strong emotion of Jesus Christ, but also his suffering.
What are the activities during Holy Tuesday?
Tuesday: Read and pray through Jesus' prediction of his death (John 12:20-36) Wednesday: Read and pray through Jesus' prediction of his betrayal (John 13:21-30) Thursday: Read and pray through the Last Supper (John 13:1-17, 31-35) and Jesus' prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane (Matthew 26:36-45)
What happens on the days of Holy Week?
During Holy Week, Christians around the world recall the events preceding Jesus’ betrayal, arrest, trial, torture, death by crucifixion, and His re...
What are the seven days of Holy Week?
In Western Christianity, the Holy Week comprises Palm Sunday (sixth Sunday of Lent), Holy Monday, Holy Tuesday, Holy Wednesday (Spy Wednesday), Mau...
Why is Holy Week so special?
To Christians, Holy Week is significant because it reminds them of how God sacrificed His only Son, Jesus Christ, as a sign of His love and a plan...
As Easter Sunday approaches Christians will celebrate the final days of Jesus Christ before his crucifiction and resurrection at the end of Holy Week
With Easter now just a few days away, we are in the middle of Holy Week for Christian believers all around the world. The seven-day celebration marks the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ, and this year began on Sunday, 10 April.
The seven days of the Christian Holy Week
In the Christian religion the Holy week is comprised of the seven days leading up to Easter Sunday. It marks the week after Jesus Christ returned to Jerusalem for a final time.
What is Holy Week?
Holy Week in the Christian year is the week immediately before Easter. The earliest allusion to the custom of marking this week as a whole with special observances is to be found in the Apostolical Constitutions (v. 18, 19), dating from the latter half of the 3rd century and 4th century. In this text, abstinence from flesh is commanded for all the days, while for the Friday and Saturday an absolute fast is commanded. Dionysius Alexandrinus in his canonical epistle (AD 260), refers to the 91 fasting days implying that the observance of them had already become an established usage in his time.
Where is Holy Week celebrated?
Holy Week is also observed in parts of Southern Italy, notably Sicily. The most famous is the Holy Week of Trapani , culminating in the Processione dei Misteri di Trapani or simply the Misteri di Trapani (in English the Procession of the Mysteries of Trapani or the Mysteries of Trapani ), a day-long passion procession featuring twenty floats of lifelike wood, canvas and glue sculptures of individual scenes of the events of the Passion.
What are the days between Palm Sunday and Maundy Thursday?
The days between Palm Sunday and Maundy Thursday are known as Holy Monday, Holy Tuesday, and Holy Wednesday (Spy Wednesday). The Gospel accounts are not always clear or in agreement on the events which occurred on these days, though there are traditional observances held by some denominations to commemorate certain events from the last days of Jesus Christ's life. Among them
What is Palm Sunday?
Traditionally, Palm Sunday commemorates the Triumphal entry into Jerusalem described in all four canonical gospels. As described in the accounts, Christ's entry into Jerusalem was noted by the crowds present who shouted praises and waved palm branches. In the Roman Rite, before 1955 it was known simply as Palm Sunday, and the preceding Sunday as Passion Sunday. From 1955 to 1971 it was called Second Sunday in Passiontide or Palm Sunday. Among Lutherans and Anglicans, the day is known as the Sunday of the Passion: Palm Sunday.
What is the Pilgrimage of Etheria?
Other writings that refer to related traditions of the early Church include, most notably, The Pilgrimage of Etheria (also known as The Pilgrimage of Egeria ), which details the whole observance of Holy Week at that time.
What is the day of the betrayal of Jesus called?
For this reason, the day is sometimes called "Spy Wednesday". (In the Tridentine Mass the Passion according to St. Luke is read instead.)
Why is the Gospel of the Pilgrims of Emmaus sung on Easter Tuesday?
For that reason, it was on Easter Tuesday that joyful plays would echo the more tragic processions of Holy Week. These plays, which originated in the Benedictine monasteries, became known as the Officium Peregrinorum. They were popular during the Middle Ages, but remained an "unusual liturgical drama in the West".
What is the beginning of Holy Week?
Holy Week begins with Palm Sunday, when Christians commemorate Jesus’ ‘triumphal entry’ into Jerusalem where the Gospels tell us he was greeted with crowds waving palm branches and crying ‘Hosanna! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord! Blessed is the coming kingdom of our ancestor David! Hosanna in the highest heaven!’ (Mark 11:9-10).
Why is Good Friday called Good Friday?
Good Friday commemorates Jesus’ trial before Pontius Pilate, his sentence of death, his torture, and his crucifixion and burial. It is called ‘good’ Friday in the obsolete sense of the word ‘good’ – connoting something ‘holy’ or ‘pious’ (‘Holy Friday’), which is striking as ‘Good Friday’ is the most somber day for Christians, when the agony, death and burial of Jesus is remembered.
Join church services
Churches across the world, Lutherans, Anglicans, Methodists, Presbyterians, and Catholics, observe different services throughout Holy Week to recall and celebrate the events preceding Jesus’ betrayal, arrest, trial, death, and resurrection.
Watch Easter movies
There are many classic and contemporary Easter movies you can watch alone, with your children, or with family and friends.
Make it real for the kids
Children mostly learn by seeing, so it’s important to set the scene to reflect the season. Clean up the house with them, and team up to make crafts such as palm crosses, colored eggs, and decorate Easter baskets. Organize Bible quizzes about Holy Week and give special treats to the winners to make it competitive!
Not a federal holiday
Good Friday — the day commemorating Jesus Christ’s crucifixion – isn’t a federal holiday and is recognized as a holiday in only 12 states.
New clothes for good fortune
According to old superstitions, wearing new clothes on Easter meant you would have good luck for the rest of the year.
Billions for Easter candy
Americans spend almost $2.5 billion on Easter candy every year, making it the second biggest candy holiday after Halloween.
A time for sober reflection and reconciliation
Through Holy Week and its observances, we can remember the agony of Jesus, the unjust treatment and punishment meted out to Him, His death, and resurrection.
Why did Jesus spend the day in Bethany?
Scholars speculate that after two exhausting days in Jerusalem, Jesus and his disciples spent this day resting in Bethany in anticipation of Passover . Just a short time previously, Jesus had revealed to the disciples, and the world, that he had power over death by raising Lazarus from the grave.
What is the most difficult day of Passion Week?
Good Friday is the most difficult day of Passion Week. Christ's journey turned treacherous and acutely painful in these final hours leading to his death.
How many times did Jesus appear on the cross?
On the day of his resurrection, Jesus Christ made at least five appearances. Mark's Gospel says the first person to see him was Mary Magdalene. Jesus also appeared to Peter, to the two disciples on the road to Emmaus, and later that day to all of the disciples except Thomas, while they were gathered in a house for prayer.
What does Judas say about the end times?
He speaks, as usual, in parables, using symbolic language about the end times events, including His Second Coming and the final judgment. Scripture indicates that this Tuesday was also the day Judas Iscariot negotiated with the Sanhedrin, the rabbinical court of ancient Israel, to betray Jesus (Matthew 26:14-16).
Where is the tomb of Jesus?
The Garden Tomb in Jerusalem, believed to be the burial place of Jesus. Steve Allen / Getty Images. On Resurrection Sunday, or Easter, we reach the culmination of Holy Week. The resurrection of Jesus Christ is the most important event of the Christian faith.
What is the meaning of Friday of Holy Week?
On this day, the church commemorates Jesus’ arrest (since by Jewish customs of counting days from sundown to sundown it was already Friday), his trial, crucifixion and suffering, death, and burial.
Why is Holy Week important?
It is important to place the hope of the Resurrection, the promise of newness and life, ...
What did Jesus call us to remember?
As Jesus and his disciples followed the instructions in the Torah to remember God’s acts of deliverance in their history as they shared the Passover meal together, so Jesus calls us to remember the new act of deliverance in our history that unfolds on these last days of Holy week (see Remember! A Service of Communion ).
What is the Easter triduum?
The Easter Triduum begins Thursday evening of Holy Week with Eucharist and concludes with evening prayers Easter Sunday. Increasingly, evangelical churches that have tended to look with suspicion on traditional "High-Church" observances of Holy Week are now realizing ...
What is the last week of Lent?
Holy Week is the last week of Lent, the week immediately preceding Easter or Resurrection Sunday. It is observed in many Christian churches as a time to commemorate and enact the suffering (Passion) and death of Jesus through various observances and services of worship.
What is the conclusion of the week?
In Catholic tradition, the conclusion to the week is called the Easter Triduum (a triduum is a space of three days usually accompanying a church festival or holy days that are devoted to special prayer and observance). Some liturgical traditions, such as Lutherans, simply refer to "The Three Days.". The Easter Triduum begins Thursday evening of ...
What is Palm Sunday?
Palm Sunday (or Passion Sunday) Holy Week begins with the sixth Sunday in Lent. This Sunday observes the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem that was marked by the crowds who were in Jerusalem for Passover waving palm branches and proclaiming him as the messianic king. The Gospels tell us that Jesus rode into the city on a donkey, ...
Why is Palm Sunday called Holy Week?
The week is called “ HOLY ” because it commemorates the patent demonstration and summit of Our Lord’s Holiest and Immense Love for the entire humanity – a love willing to suffer unto “death, ...
What is the name of the day that Mary anoints Jesus with perfume?
Holy Monday. Mary anoints Jesus with perfume. Judas is scandalized and leaves. Holy Tuesday. Jesus predicts Judas’ betrayal and Peter’s triple denial. Holy Wednesday. Judas betrays Jesus and hands him over to the chief priests. Maundy or Holy Thursday.
What did Jesus do during the Last Supper?
Jesus washes the feet of His Apostles and gives the New Commandment of love. Jesus institutes the Sacraments of the Holy Eucharist and of Orders during the Last Supper. Jesus resurrects from the dead and triumphs over sin, death, evil, and the devil.
What did Jesus do for the dead?
Jesus resurrects from the dead and triumphs over sin, death, evil, and the devil. Let us thank God not only with feelings and words, but also with works, taking advantage of the Holy Week to grow in our self-giving to Him, -and for Him-, to His Church and all souls. N.B.
What is the day of Palm Sunday?
Day 1: Palm Sunday ( Matthew 21:1-11, Mark 11:1 -11, Luke 19:28-44, John 12:9-19) It is likely that you celebrated this event in your church yesterday. Maybe your church had children waving palm branches to help them connect to the story. But while this is a triumphal entry, it is Jesus’ first step toward His death. Matthew 21:4 tells us: ...
What does the Gospels tell us about Monday?
Ramsey summarizes, “ Much of what the Gospels tell us about Monday centers on the theme of Jesus’s authority— both over the created world and his right to judge it .”. Jesus is fulfilling all of the Scriptures; He is the one with the authority in this situation not the religious leaders.
What day did Jesus rest on his head?
Day 4: The Wednesday before Easter ( Matthew 26:6-16; Mark 14:3-11; Luke 22:3-6) On Wednesday Jesus rested; He allowed a woman to pour expensive ointment on His head. When His disciples exclaimed at the price of the oil and what they considered a waste, Jesus responded,
What does Maundy Thursday mean?
Maundy Thursday covers the washing of the disciples’ feet, the announcement of Jesus' coming betrayal, the Passover meal, prayer at the Mount of Olives, and ultimately His arrest in Gethsemane. As Ramsey comments, Jesus isn’t just there to pray at the Mount of Olives…He is there to wait.
Where did Jesus teach the Word of God?
His words on this day are his closing argument, his manifesto ,” writes Ramsey. In Matthew 26:1-5 Jesus tells His disciples,
When we celebrate Christmas, what tone should we use?
When we celebrate Christmas there is a merrier tone, but when we celebrate Easter (though we should be glad in our hearts) there should be a more serious tone. We need to understand the cost of our happiness and the great sacrifice that made it possible.
Who met to decide Jesus' fate?
Later this night the Sanhedrine met to decide Jesus’ fate, and they called for His death.
Overview
Holy Week in Eastern Christianity
In the Eastern Orthodox Church, the forty days of Great Lent end on the Friday before Palm Sunday. The two days that follow, Lazarus Saturday and Palm Sunday, form a transition to Holy Week, neither in Lent nor in Holy Week themselves, but in combination with Holy Week containing the continuing observances in preparation for Pascha (Easter), during which the faithful contin…
History
Holy Week in the Christian year is the week immediately before Easter. The earliest allusion to the custom of marking this week as a whole with special observances is to be found in the Apostolical Constitutions (v. 18, 19), dating from the latter half of the 3rd century and 4th century. In this text, abstinence from flesh is commanded for all the days, while for the Friday and Saturday an absolute fast is commanded. Dionysius Alexandrinus in his canonical epistle (AD 260), refers to t…
Holy Week in Western Christianity
Holy Week begins with Palm Sunday, complete: Palm and Passion Sunday (Latin Dominica in Palmis de Passione Domini). Traditionally, Palm Sunday commemorates the Triumphal entry into Jerusalem described in all four canonical gospels. As described in the accounts, Christ's entry into Jerusalem was noted by the crowds present who shouted praises and waved palm branch…
Related observances
Through time, the festival of Holy Week was extended at both ends, with observances starting on Friday of Sorrows, the last Friday before Palm Sunday, and Eastertide, with various observances marking days of the Easter Octave.
The religious processions that are part of the Holy Week celebrations in many countries begin two days before Holy Week on what in those countries is called Friday of Sorrows.
See also
• Divine Mercy Sunday
• Holy Week in Mexico
• Holy Week in Spain
• Holy Week in the Philippines
• Holy Week procession
External links
• "The historical places of the Holy Week" (in Spanish). igeo.tv.
Palm Sunday – Entrance Into Jerusalem
Holy Wednesday – Into The Darkness
- Holy Week continues in many Christian traditions on ‘Holy Wednesday’ (known as ‘Spy Wednesday’ in earlier times). Holy Wednesday is often marked with a service of Tenebrae (Latin for ‘darkness’ or ‘shadows’), with the hearing of appropriate psalms and other readings while candles on a candelabrum (the ‘Tenebrae hearse’) are gradually extinguished, ...
Maundy Thursday – The Last Supper
- Maundy Thursday marks the Last Supper that Jesus shares with his disciples, his betrayal by his disciple Judas Iscariot, and his arrest at the Garden of Gethsemane. Often Maundy Thursday services will include an act of foot washing, which commemorates Jesus washing the feet of his disciples as an act of service on the night of his arrest (John 13:1-20). Maundy Thursday remind…
Good Friday – Jesus’ Agony on The Cross
- Good Friday commemorates Jesus’ trial before Pontius Pilate, his sentence of death, his torture, and his crucifixion and burial. It is called ‘good’ Friday in the obsolete sense of the word ‘good’ – connoting something ‘holy’ or ‘pious’ (‘Holy Friday’), which is striking as ‘Good Friday’ is the most somber day for Christians, when the agony, death and burial of Jesus is remembered. For many …
Holy Saturday – Visiting The Tomb of Jesus
- The Triduum of Holy Week concludes with Holy Saturday, often with a late-night Easter Vigil service, which is really two parts. First, a liturgy that recalls the vigil, the ‘keeping watch’ of Jesus’ female disciples at the tomb of Jesus, which begins in darkness where a new paschal or Easter fire is kindled. This, then, is followed by the joyous celebration of the first Eucharist of Easter, wh…