Holy Thursday is dedicated to remembering the Last Supper of Jesus and the apostles.
For those who profess Christianity , Holy Week is a time when the final events of Jesus Christ's passage through the Earth are commemorated. It has no precise date (sometimes it takes place in March and, other years, in April) but its liturgy always contemplates each phase of the Passion of Christ .
It is a period of the year during which, worldwide , there are specific biblical readings for the occasion, a special schedule of mass times , multiple representations of the Stations of the Cross and numerous processions where the processional marches are displayed.
Regardless of this concept, which for those who are not believers or have another creed is associated with vacations or tourist outings because it translates into a long weekend of four days (from Thursday to Sunday), there are a lot of religious notions that should be known and kept in mind, at least to better understand important dates and rituals for the Catholic Church .
Throughout this article, therefore, we will provide details about Lent , the Eucharist , the Easter Triduum and Easter Sunday , for example.
Meaning of Holy Week
For people who live according to the precepts of Catholicism , the meaning of Holy Week is to have moments of reflection on the passion , death and resurrection of Jesus . Of course, there is also time for prayer and religious services.
The celebration of Easter begins with a spiritual preparation during Lent . When the so-called Good Friday arrives, which precedes the development of Palm Sunday (the date on which olive branches are blessed and distributed as a way of remembering that the crowd that saw Christ enter Jerusalem waved and threw palm branches in his path), the Virgin of Sorrows is honored, one of the Marian advocations. The purpose is to remember the pains that the Virgin Mary went through, especially those linked to the crucifixion and the death of her son.
The Easter Triduum begins every Holy Thursday , a date on which the celebration that focuses on the Eucharist that was instituted during the Last Supper takes place. Hours later comes Good Friday : the Catholic Church urges to carry out practices of penance , fasting and abstinence from meat during its course. When night falls corresponding to Holy Saturday , meanwhile, the Easter Vigil is lit. The resurrection of Jesus is commemorated at Easter , a Christian holiday that characterizes the so-called Resurrection Sunday .
It should also not be overlooked that, forty days before the arrival of Holy Thursday , the celebration of Ash Wednesday takes place, which in addition to fasting and prayer involves the use in the mass of ashes from the burning of palms that, a year earlier, were blessed on Palm Sunday .
INRI is an acronym for Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews (Iesus Nazarenus Rex Iudaeorum), a sign that was engraved, with ironic intention, on the cross .
Typical Easter foods
Typical Easter meals conform to religious guidelines, which, for example, prohibit the consumption of red meat as an act of sacrifice in honour of Jesus . The recipes that are usually imposed during this time of year also reveal cultural traditions.
Easter gastronomy usually has classics that vary from country to country. There are those who are accustomed to preparing and enjoying garlic soup , while others choose to celebrate this celebration with sweetness, giving prominence to rice pudding , torrijas and candied almonds . On Spanish soil, it also became customary to enjoy a Lenten stew throughout the Fridays of Lent .
Easter around the world also involves preparations made from cod and other fish, doughnuts , crespillos , sweet hornazo and Lent fritters . The Easter egg , inspired by ancient practices of giving and exchanging stuffed eggs and eating this food in a cooked version at the end of Lent , currently motivates a ritual of entertaining and surprising children with chocolate figures previously hidden by a character popularly known as the Easter bunny .
Decorated chocolate eggs and figures have become an Easter Sunday classic.
Holy Week processions and rituals
There are Holy Week processions and rituals that take on different magnitudes and characteristics depending on the brotherhoods and confraternities involved. In Zaragoza, to give a specific example, during this religious celebration the Brotherhood of the Crowning of Thorns usually gains visibility. It has a pedestal (centered on the bust of Christ crowned with thorns) and a float alluding to the moment when a crown of thorns is placed on Jesus' head with the purpose of harming him, causing him suffering and humiliating him.
It is worth noting that the processional floats , necessary to display various religious images throughout a procession , are divided into several groups. Among them, the Christ Float and the Mystery Float are recognized, both representing episodes linked to the Passion of Christ .
Every Holy Thursday , meanwhile, the Pope performs the rite of washing the feet of helpless, marginalized or poor people, which symbolizes the generous love and humility of Christ . The act reproduces an event reflected in the Gospel of Saint John the Evangelist , which shows Jesus washing the feet of the apostles at the end of the Last Supper .
It is common that in different cities, as part of the actions planned for each Holy Week , concerts and cycles of sacred music are offered, as well as special personalities being chosen to offer a Holy Week Sermon .