Inglés

Holy Week
Find this year's date in the multifaith calendar

The most solemn week of the Christian year, Holy week is the week leading up to Easter, and is the week during which Christians particularly remember the last week of Jesus's life. Holy week begins on Palm Sunday.

Palm Sunday
Palm Sunday commemorates Christ's triumphant arrival in Jerusalem to the cheers of the crowd.

Thenext day the great crowd that had come for the Feast heard that Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem,

They took palm branches and went out to meet him, shouting,

"Hosanna!"

"Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!"

"Blessed is the King of Israel!"

John 12:12-13
Later in that week many of the people in that cheering crowd would be among those shouting that Jesus should beexecuted.

Symbolism
Christian clergy will often use the Palm Sunday story to help people think about the strength of their own commitment to their faith. They may ask believers to think about times that they have been unfaithful to Christ, or been hypocritical in proclaiming their support.

Church services
In many churches, during Palm Sunday services, large palm branches are carried inprocessions.

In Anglican and Roman Catholic churches, members of the congregation hold small crosses made of palm leaf, both to remember the palm leaves which the people of Jerusalem waved when Jesus arrived, and to remember the cross on which he died.

Some Christians display the crosses from that service in their homes during the year as a symbol of their faith. The crosses are burnedat the start of Lent the next year to provide the ash for Ash Wednesday.

Hymns for Palm Sunday generally include Ride on, Ride on in Majesty and All glory, laud and honour.

Songs may include Make Way, Hosanna, and (for children) We have a King who Rides a Donkey.

Maundy Thursday
Jesus washed the feet of his disciples ©
Maundy Thursday is the Thursday before Easter. Christiansremember it as the day of the Last Supper, when Jesus washed the feet of his disciples and established the ceremony known as the Eucharist.

The night of Maundy Thursday is the night on which Jesus was betrayed by Judas in the Garden of Gethsemane.

The word maundy comes from the command given by Christ at the Last Supper, that we should love one another.

In Roman Catholic churches theanthem Mandatum novum do vobis (a new commandment I give to you) would be sung on Maundy Thursday.

In many other countries this day is known as Holy Thursday.

Maundy Thursday ceremonies
In Britain, the sovereign takes part in the Ceremony of the Royal Maundy.

Maundy coins ©
This ceremony, held at a great cathedral, involves the distribution of Maundy money to deserving seniorcitizens (one man and one woman for each year of the sovereign's age), usually chosen for having done service to their community.

They receive ceremonial red and white purses which contain coins made especially for the occasion. The white purse contains one coin for each year of the monarch's reign.

The red purse contains money in place of other gifts that used to be given to the poor.

Inthe 17th century, and earlier, the King or Queen would wash the feet of the selected poor people as a gesture of humility, and in remembrance of Jesus' washing the feet of the disciples. The last monarch to do this was James 2. The ceremony of the monarch giving money to the poor on this day dates back to Edward 1.

Pedilavium: the washing of the feet
Roman Catholic church services feature aceremony in which the priest washes the feet of 12 people to commemorate Jesus' washing the feet of his disciples.

It was common in monasteries throughout history for the Abbot to wash the feet of the monks in a similar gesture.

Some other churches nowadays also have foot-washing ceremonies as part of their Maundy Thursday services.

The consecration of holy oil
In Roman Catholic...