Holy Thursday is dedicated to remembering the Last Supper of Jesus and the apostles.
Holy Week is, for those who profess Christianity , a time in which the final events of Jesus Christ's passage through the Earth are commemorated. It does not have a 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 faith is associated with vacations or tourist outings because it translates into a long weekend lasting four days (from Thursday to Sunday), there are a lot of religious notions that It is advisable to know and keep 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
The meaning of Holy Week is, for people who live according to the precepts of Catholicism , to have moments of reflection around the passion , death and resurrection of Jesus . Of course, moments of prayer and religious services also have their place.
The celebration of Easter begins to prepare spiritually with Lent . When the so-called Friday of Sorrows 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 branches in his path). of palm), the Virgin of Sorrows is honored, one of the Marian devotions. 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 takes place that focuses on the Eucharist that was instituted during the Last Supper . Hours later, Good Friday arrives: the Catholic Church urges the observance of practices of penance , fasting and abstinence from meat during its course. As night falls corresponding to Holy Saturday , meanwhile, the Easter Vigil is lit. The resurrection of Jesus is commemorated on Easter , a Christian holiday that characterizes the so-called Resurrection Sunday .
Nor can it be overlooked that, forty days before the arrival of Holy Thursday , the celebration of Ash Wednesday is located, which in addition to fasting and prayer involves the use in the mass of ashes arising from the burning of palms that, a year before, they had a blessing on Palm Sunday .
INRI is an acronym for Jesus of the Nazarene, King of the Jews (Iesus Nazarenus Rex Iudaeorum), a label that was engraved, with ironic intent, on the cross .
Typical Easter foods
Typical Easter meals conform to religious guidelines that, for example, prohibit the consumption of red meat as an act of sacrifice in honor of Jesus . The recipes that usually prevail during the aforementioned time of year also reveal cultural traditions.
Easter cuisine usually has classics that vary from country to country. There are those who usually prepare and enjoy a garlic soup , while others choose to go through this celebration with sweetness, giving prominence to rice pudding , torrijas and sugared almonds . On Spanish soil, it also became customary to enjoy a vigil stew throughout the Fridays of Lent .
Holy Week in the world also takes place with preparations based on cod and other fish, rosquillas , crespillos , sweet hornazo and Lenten fritters . The Easter egg , inspired by ancient practices aimed at 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 named the Easter bunny .
Decorated chocolate eggs and figures became a classic on Easter Sunday.
Holy Week processions and rituals
There are Holy Week processions and rituals that take on different magnitudes and characteristics depending on the brotherhoods and brotherhoods that take part. On Zaragoza soil, to detail a specific case, during this religious celebration the Brotherhood of the Coronation of Thorns usually gains visibility, which has a pedestal (centered on the bust of Christ crowned with thorns) and an allusive step at the time of placement of a crown of thorns on Jesus' head with the purpose of harming him, causing him suffering and humiliating him.
It should be noted that the processional steps , necessary to display various religious images throughout a procession , are segmented into several groups. Among them, the Passage of Christ and the Passage of Mystery 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 subjects, which symbolizes the generous love and humility of Christ . The act reproduces an event that is reflected in the Gospel of Saint John the Evangelist and that positions 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 are chosen to offer an Holy Week Proclamation .