Holy Days of Holy Week
The ‘Holy and the Great Week’ observed the seven days that leads up to Easter. This starts with the remembrance of Christ’s triumphal coming to Jerusalem during Palm Sunday. The Holy Week liturgies usually attract the biggest crowds of a year. Many Christian traditions have different cultures like special services or liturgies, live reenactments of the life of Christ’s, his arrest and his crucifixion, floats, and sculptures of him.
History
The Holy Week in liturgical year is a week that immediately before Easter. An earliest allusion to a custom of marking the week as totally with exclusive ceremonies is to be discovered in the Apostolical Constitution that dated from latter half of third and fourth century. Now, in the Church of Western Christian, among Presbyterians, Catholics, Lutherans, Anglicans, and Methodists, the liturgies being used for the Holy Week are closely identical.
In the Church of Moravian, Holy Week services or the Passion Week had been extensive, as their congregation followed Christ life through the final week in everyday services dedicated to reading from the harmony of a Gospel story, responding to actions in hymns, litanies and prayers, beginning on Palm Sunday Eve and culminating in Easter Sunrise or Easter Morning service begun in 1732.
Holy Week in the Western Christianity
Palm Sunday: Palm & Passion Sunday
Traditionally, the Palm Sunday commemorated the Triumphal coming to Jerusalem described to all 4 canonical gospels. As illustrated in these accounts, the entry of Christ into Jerusalem had been noted by crowds being present that shouted praises and then waved palm branches. While in the Roman Rites, before 1955, this had been simply known as Palm Sunday, while the preceding Sunday is Passion Sunday. Since 1955 to 1971 this was named as Second Sunday in the Passiontide or the Palm Sunday. Among the Anglicans and Lutherans, the day is being called as Sunday of Passion: Palm Sunday.
Holy Monday / Holy Tuesday or Fig Tuesday
These Holy days are the traditional observances being held by the liturgical denominations to celebrate events from the final days of the life of Jesus Christ.
Holy Monday events being observed in liturgy will include Jesus cursing a fig tree, the purifying of a Temple, Jesus authority being questioned, and also Jesus anointing at Bethany, an event where in Gospel of John take place before the Palm Sunday.
While on Holy Tuesday, there are some that observe the predictions of Christ own death.
Holy Wednesday or Spy Wednesday
On Holy Wednesday, Judas story of organizing his betrayal to Jesus with their chief priests is being remembered; he had been the spy among Jesus disciples. For this cause, the day is at times called the “Spy Wednesday”.
Holy Thursday or Maundy Thursday
While on Maundy Thursday, an altar of a Methodist church had been stripped and a crucifix was veiled of black color for the Good Friday. The wooden cross sits at the front of a bare chancel for a veneration of the ceremony of the cross.
Maundy Thursday observed the Last Supper, wherein Jesus Christ lays out a model for the Holy Communion or the Eucharist. During a meal, Jesus predicted an event that would immediately come, including his betrayal, Peter’s Denial, and his passing and resurrection. This liturgical observation of Last Supper during Maundy Thursday marked the start of Paschal Triduum. Lutheran and Catholic parishes usually practice the washing of the foot ceremony during Maundy Thursday, the practice kept in some other denominations also.
On this day, in Catholic Church, a private commemoration of Mass has been forbidden. Therefore, apart from Chrism Mass for that blessing of Holy Oils that those diocesan bishops will celebrate during the Holy Thursday morning, but with some other day closes to Easter, the only Holy Mass for this day is the Lord’s Supper evening Mass, which inaugurates the time of three days called as Easter Triduum.
Holy Friday or Good Friday
This Holy day celebrates Jesus crucifixion and his subsequent passing. Commemorations of frequently mournful and solemn, many denominations are using Good Friday to work on the Station of the Cross, with some other commemoration of the Passion, and either as the self-guided time to venerate and reflect and as the images or statues processions.
The night liturgical celebration during Holy Thursday starts the primary day of the three days in Easter Triduum that kept in the atmosphere of liturgical grief throughout the following day. For Catholics, Methodist, Anglican Christians, Lutheran, and Reformed, Good Friday is being widely observed as one fast day. The Handbook for Discipline of Lent suggest that the Lutheran guideline that they should “fast on Good Friday and on Ash Wednesday with only a simple meal in the day, and normally with no meat”. In the Western Catholic Church, the practice will be to have a full meal or if needed, to have two small snacks which together don’t make the full meal. In the Anglican Communion, fasting had been defined generically as: “The sum of food taken is reduced.”
Also, in some countries, like Malta, Philippines, Spain and Italy, processions with the statues are being held and it represents the Passion of Jesus Christ. The church mourns because of the death of Christ, reveres the cross then marvels his life because of his obedience until his death. The Catholic Church celebrated the sacraments of Anointing of the Sick and Penance. While there’s no observance of the Eucharist, the Holy Communion is being distributed to those faithful one during the Celebration of Lord’s Passion, but may be taken in any hour to a sick that are not able to attend the liturgy.
Holy Saturday or Black Saturday
The Holy Saturday is that day between Jesus crucifixion and his resurrection. During the Sabbath day, Gospel accounts every note that Jesus Christ was suddenly buried in the cave tomb right after his crucifixion, and with intention to finish the right embalming and the burial ceremonies on the coming Sunday, after that Sabbath had finished, as this Sabbath day prohibitions could have been prevented observant Jews to complete the proper burial.
In Catholic tradition right after the service on Good Friday, which represented Jesus burial, until the day of Easter Vigil on the night of Saturday, no mass will happen on Holy Saturday. A celebration of Easter Vigil liturgically fit in Easter Sunday.
In most of the Anglican churches, including Episcopal Church in USA, there is condition for the simple liturgy of a word with the readings that commemorates Jesus Christ burial. The entrance of the blank tabernacle of their main altar had been left open that will symbolize that Christ is gone. The candle or lamp normally situated next to a tabernacle denoting Christ presence is being blown out.
Easter Sunday or Easter Day
Easter Day immediately follows the Holy Week and starts with Easter Vigil. This is a great feast day plus the apogee of Christian liturgical year: During this day Christ Resurrection is being celebrated. This is the primary day of the current season of the Eastertide or Great Fifty Days that runs from the Easter Day to the Pentecost Sunday. Christ Resurrection on Easter Day had been the major cause why Christians keep each Sunday as the main day of religious ceremony.
