Kriti Mehta
New Delhi, April 10, 2020
The Holy Week is the most sacred Week in the Christian calendar marked by recalling the events surrounding the passion, crucifixion on Good Friday, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ on Easter.
In Christianity, Palm Sunday is the day to mark the occasion when Jesus Christ arrived on a donkey in Jerusalem to observe Passover before his crucifixion.
The sixth day of the Holy Week, Good Friday marks the day when Jesus died on the Cross.
Easter is celebrated by Christians as the day when Jesus Christ resurrected.
The Holy Week this year began on April 5 and will end on April 11.
Holy Week, as the name suggests, is the most auspicious and sacred Week of the Christian calendar. Religious observance during the Holy Week leading up to Easter Sunday is marked by recalling the events surrounding the passion, crucifixion, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The Holy Week has five significant days.
Holy Week 2020 days
Palm Sunday: In Christianity, Palm Sunday is the day to mark the occasion when Jesus Christ arrived on a donkey in Jerusalem to observe ‘Passover’ before his crucifixion. It is the first day of the Holy Week. Palm leaves and cloaks were laid in his path by crowds of people who proclaimed him the son of David. Celebrations of the day are marked by the distribution of palm leaves.
Maundy Thursday: Holy Thursday is the commemoration of the day when Jesus had his Last Supper of the Eucharist. To mark the day, Roman Churches may engage in washing the feet of parishioners. The Pope washes the feet of 12 poor persons, imitating Jesus’ washing of the feet of his 12 disciples at the Last Supper. Other Churches may have special communion services.
Good Friday: The sixth day of the Holy Week, Good Friday marks the day when Jesus died on the Cross at Calvary. For Christians, this is the day of mourning and penance. The Bible mentions the story of how Jesus was mocked at and beaten by Roman soldiers before being made to carry the Cross to the location of crucifixion. The day is called ‘Good,’ not because it is a joyous occasion but because of the antiquated definition of the word good, meaning ‘pious’ or ‘Holy.’ The day of the crucifixion is actually not mentioned in the Bible, it is a belief that Jesus Christ was crucified on Friday. Good Friday is observed by some Christians by attending Church services and by fasting. Some also carry out re-enactments of the events leading to Jesus’ crucifixion, called as the ‘Passion of Jesus.’
Holy Saturday: This is the day after Good Friday. The first Church service that some Christians observe is on Holy Saturday. This is the last day of the Holy Week and precedes Easter Sunday.
Easter Sunday: Easter is celebrated by Christians as the day when Jesus Christ resurrected. The date changes every year as it is determined by a lunisolar calendar; hence Easter is a moveable feast. Easter marks the end of the 40-day period of penance called Lent. The date of Easter Sunday falls on the first Sunday after the first Full Moon following the vernal equinox in March. Christians mark Easter with flowers, music, candles and ringing of the Church bells. Many exchange chocolate eggs, symbolic of rebirth and new life. The modern observance of Easter includes the Easter lamb, the Easter rabbit, and the painting of Easter eggs. Eastern Orthodox Christians use the word Pascha, the Greek word for the Jewish feast of Passover, in referring to Easter.
Kriti Mehta Senior copywriter at Times Now Digital.
From the BBC News Magazine
It is the day when Christians commemorate Jesus Christ’s crucifixion.
So why is it called Good Friday?
According to the Bible, the son of God was flogged, ordered to carry the Cross on which he would be crucified and then put to death. It is difficult to see what is “Good” about it.
Some sources suggest that the day is “Good” in that it is Holy, or that the phrase is a corruption of “God’s Friday.”
However, according to Fiona MacPherson, Senior Editor at the Oxford English Dictionary, the adjective traditionally “designates a day on (or sometimes a season in) which religious observance is held.” The OED states that “good” in this context refers to “a day or season observed as Holy by the Church,” hence the greeting “good tide” at Christmas or on Shrove Tuesday. In addition to Good Friday, there is also a less well-known Good Wednesday, namely the Wednesday before Easter.
The earliest known use of “Guode Friday” is found in The South English Legendary, a text from around 1290, according to the dictionary.
According to the Baltimore Catechism, the standard US Catholic school text from 1885 to the 1960s, Good Friday is good because Christ “showed His great love for man, and purchased for him every blessing”.
The Catholic Encyclopedia, first published in 1907, states that the term’s origins are not clear.
It says that some sources see its origins in the term “God’s Friday” or ‘Gottes Freitag,’ while others maintain that it is from the German ‘Gute Freitag.’
It notes that the day was called ‘Long Friday’ by the Anglo-Saxons and is referred to as such in modern Danish.
It also says that the day is known as “the Holy and Great Friday” in the Greek liturgy, “Holy Friday” in Romance Languages and Karfreitag (Sorrowful Friday) in German.
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