Easter: Maundy Thursday to Easter Monday - customs and meaning of the holidays

Created: 04/16/2022, 04:52

By: Andrea Pientka

The Holy Sepulcher (ca. 1757) by the artist Joseph Ignaz Schilling (1702-1773) in the parish church of St. Laurentius in Egern (archive image).

© Sven Hoppe dpa/lby

Easter is the highest festival of Christians.

We explain the public holidays from Maundy Thursday through Good Friday and Holy Saturday to Easter Sunday and Easter Monday.

• When is Easter 2022?

• Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, Holy Saturday, Easter Sunday, Easter Monday - which days are public holidays in Germany?

• Here you can find all the information about the meaning and customs.

Easter - it is the most important festival in Christianity.

Then believers celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who according to the New Testament as the Son of God overcame death.

Easter always falls on the Sunday after the first full moon in spring - that is, at the earliest on March 22nd and at the latest on April 25th.

In 2022, Christians will celebrate Easter on April 17th.

What does Holy Week mean to Christians?

But before the resurrection of Jesus is celebrated at Easter, Christians commemorate the passion, crucifixion and death of Jesus Christ during Holy Week.

The "Kar" in Holy Week was derived from the Old High German word "Kara" and means something like "lament", "grief", "mourning".

Holy Week is also known as the "quiet week" and actually includes all days from Palm Sunday, the Sunday before Easter, to Holy Saturday, the Saturday before Easter Sunday.

The actual Holy Days are Maundy Thursday, Good Friday and Holy Saturday.

Also at Easter 2022: Ban on dancing during Holy Week

Until the 1950s, Holy Week was a so-called “closed time” in large parts of Germany.

This means that at that time, out of respect for the church holidays, many shops remained closed and no public festivals or celebrations were held.

Today there is only a ban on dancing on Kartage in certain federal states.

Maundy Thursday: Last Supper and Washing of Feet

On

, Christians commemorate the last supper of Jesus with his apostles.

By the way, Maundy Thursday has nothing to do with the color green.

The name derives from the Middle High German "grinen", which means something like whimpering, i.e. complaining or crying.

by Jesus Christ is remembered

in a special way during the service .

According to tradition, Jesus first blessed the bread for his disciples at the last supper on Maundy Thursday, then broke it and said “take and eat”.

According to the Gospel of Mark, Jesus also said, "This is my body...".

Then he is said to have blessed the wine and said to his disciples, "Take and drink".

In the Gospel of Mark, Jesus also says, "This is my blood...".

According to the tradition in the Bible, Jesus also called on the disciples to do this as often as possible in memory of him.

On Maundy Thursday, the faithful are therefore given Holy Communion as the “body and blood of Christ” almost everywhere in the church.

In addition, the Last Supper on Maundy Thursday also establishes the

: on behalf of Jesus, the priest speaks the words of consecration over bread and wine.

According to Catholic understanding, the “celebration of thanksgiving” (“Eucharist”), the Holy Mass with the congregation, is the most precious task of the priest.

In many congregations, the service on Maundy Thursday is also associated with

the feet - as a symbol that Jesus washed the feet of his disciples before the last supper and as a call to charity.

On Maundy Thursday, for example, Pope Francis washed the feet of twelve people with disabilities in a therapy center in Rome - including a 75-year-old Muslim from Libya, an Ethiopian, a 16-year-old boy from the African island state of Cape Verde and nine Italians.

Munich Archbishop Cardinal Marx also washed the feet of refugee families in the cathedral on Maundy Thursday.

Maundy Thursday also has political significance: the start of the Easter marches

The service on Maundy Thursday is the last one before Easter Sunday, to which the bells ring.

The organ also remains silent after a ceremonial opening.

There is silence until the Gloria on the Easter Vigil.

It is also popularly said: "The bells fly to Rome." At the end of the service on Maundy Thursday, the altar in the church is completely cleared.

The tabernacle then remains empty and stands open.

traditionally begin on this day

.

Peace activists use them to demonstrate against military operations, arms trade and the use of combat drones. 

Good Friday - day of mourning, penance, fasting and prayer

In "The Passion of the Christ" the crucifixion of Jesus Christ is depicted on Good Friday.

© dpa

According to biblical tradition, Jesus was

condemned and crucified in Jerusalem on

Judas had betrayed him on the night between Maundy Thursday and Good Friday.

The Friday before Easter is considered a day of penance, fasting and prayer.

The services are dedicated to mourning.

The main service, also known as the Good Friday liturgy or "The celebration of the suffering and death of Jesus Christ", usually takes place at 3 p.m., since the Bible says that Jesus died on the cross in the "ninth hour".

In the Bible, the Jewish day is reckoned from 6 a.m.

The ninth hour of the day is therefore 3 p.m.

The stations of Christ's Way of the Cross are often reconstructed.

The service on Good Friday essentially consists of three parts: a service of the word, the veneration of the cross and the celebration of communion.

In the veneration of the cross, a veiled cross is carried to the altar and unveiled there.

The pastor sings three times: "Behold the cross on which the Lord is hung, the salvation of the world." The faithful answer him: "Come, let us worship" and kneel down to worship Jesus on the cross in silent prayer.

In the churches on Good Friday all crosses and side or winged altars are hung or closed.

Even the Eternal Light does not burn.

It is lit again on Easter Sunday with the flame of the Easter candle.

Many parishes have built a Holy Sepulcher.

It is a site modeled after the tomb of Jesus Christ.

Good Friday: Fasting and customs

Good Friday is the first day of the three-day Easter festival (also known as the Triduum Sacrum or "Easter Triduum") - in the Catholic faith.

It is the most important holiday in the Evangelical Church, as Lutheran Orthodoxy places the emphasis on Jesus' sacrifice for mankind and on the crucifixion of the Son of God for the redemption of all from all sins. 

Good Friday is also the strictest day of fasting in the 40 days of Lent before Easter for Catholics.

Christians are not supposed to eat meat on Good Friday.

There are also Christians who consciously refrain from hammering or knocking on this day because Jesus was crucified.

Gambling is also frowned upon by Christians on Good Friday because the Roman soldiers gambled on the cross for Jesus' clothes.

Casinos and arcades in Bavaria therefore closed on Good Friday.

Instead of using bells, which have to be silent until Easter Sunday, many parishes use so-called rattles to call to the service on Good Friday.

Good Friday is a public holiday in Germany.

Holy Saturday - the quietest day in the (church) year

On

, the rest of Christ's grave is commemorated and his resurrection is awaited with fasting and prayer.

In the Catholic Church, Holy Saturday is the quietest day of the year.

The Archdiocese of Munich writes on its website: “God sent his son into the world and he became like humans until death.

He neither descended from the cross nor ascended directly from the cross to the Father in heaven.

He descended into the realm of death (...).

Not dying, but being dead is the lowest point of human existence.”

In many Catholic churches, the "Holy Sepulchre" is open to the faithful for prayer until Holy Saturday.

On Holy Saturday, no sacraments are celebrated that are associated with joy and celebrations - for example, baptism, communion, marriage.

Also, there is no celebration of the Eucharist, nor is Holy Communion given (the only exception being communion on the dead).

The cross of Good Friday remains in the churches on Holy Saturday to continue to give the faithful the opportunity to worship.

The Easter Vigil is usually celebrated in the evening hours of Holy Saturday, sometimes also in the early morning hours of Easter Sunday.

Easter: Easter Sunday - the most important festival for Christians

On

- usually in the Easter Vigil - the resurrection of Christ from the dead is celebrated.

According to Christian belief, the crucified Jesus overcame death.

He thereby fulfilled his divine mission of redemption on earth.

According to Christian belief, all people have the chance to go to heaven after death because of the resurrection of Jesus at Easter.

Death is not seen as the end but as the beginning of a new life.

According to the Bible, the women discovered the empty tomb on Easter Sunday.

Two angels proclaimed the Easter message to them.

According to Matthew, the women made their way back to Galilee, and on the way they encountered the risen Jesus, who repeated the message of the angels.

Depending on the evangelist, the women are filled with fear or great joy, or both, and they may or may not carry the message to the disciples (who do not believe them).

In many parishes, an Easter bonfire is lit during Easter Vigil.

© dpa

For the Easter Vigil, i.e. the celebration of the resurrection of Jesus as a service, Christians gather early in the morning in the dark churches.

In front of many churches, an Easter fire is lit and then the Easter candle is lit.

This will then be ceremonially carried into the church.

The flame of the Easter candle is passed on to all other candles in the church (including those of the faithful).

In Bavaria it is also customary for the believers' food such as bread, ham, salt, eggs or Easter lambs to be blessed during the Easter service.

Easter Sunday: Large church services in Rome and Munich

More than 100,000 believers were expected to attend the Easter service at St. Peter's Square in Rome.

© dpa

Of course, Easter Sunday is also celebrated in Rome.

More than 100,000 believers are expected to attend the Mass on St. Peter's Square, the highlight of the Easter celebrations.

Pope Francis will conclude the Easter service with the Urbi et Orbi blessing.

The date for Easter is based on the lunar calendar and is celebrated on the first Sunday after the spring full moon.

Easter after 2022: Overview of dates

In the years to come, Easter falls on the following days:

• April 17, 2022

• April 9, 2023

• March 31, 2024

• April 20, 2025

• April 5, 2026

Easter Monday: Disciples encounter Jesus on the road to Emmaus

According to the Gospel of Luke, on the third day after the crucifixion,

, two disciples met an unknown man on their way to Emmaus.

Only later did they recognize him as Christ and proclaimed the resurrection of the Lord in Jerusalem.

Easter Monday is also a public holiday in Germany.

In many rural regions, especially in Bavaria, customs are cultivated on Easter Monday that are based on the disciples' journey to Emmaus.

In some parishes, for example, the faithful move from the parish church to a chapel.

But there is also the Easter field tour, during which the farmer walks through his rye or wheat field together with all the residents of the house.

This is the meaning of the holiday of the Ascension of Christ.

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