ALSO called ‘Great and Holy Week,’ or ‘Passion Week,’ Holy Week in the Christian year is the week preceding Easter. Holy Week has five days of special significance, which start on Palm Sunday, the Sunday before Easter, until Holy Saturday (Black Saturday), but doesn’t include Easter Sunday.
The day commemorating Jesus’ crucifixion and death, Good Friday has been celebrated since 100 A.D. as a day of fasting. This means that Christians around the world have celebrated Holy Week and observed different services during the week for over 1,900 years!
Brief Background
Holy Week has names for the five special days in the week, beginning with Palm Sunday or Passion Sunday, which commemorates Jesus’ heroic entry into Jerusalem. The following day is called Holy Monday when Jesus cursed the fig tree, sent out the merchants from the temple, and responded to those who questioned His authority. On Holy Tuesday, some observe Christ foretelling his own death.
The next day is named Holy Wednesday or Spy Wednesday, which remembers how Judas arranged the betrayal of Jesus with the chief priests since he was a spy among the disciples of Jesus. Some churches celebrate Tenebrae (the Latin for ‘shadows’ or ‘darkness’) services especially on Spy Wednesday, where they gradually extinguish lit candles while reciting and chanting a series of readings and selected psalms. Holy Wednesday is then followed by the ‘Triduum’ of Holy Week — Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Holy Saturday.
Deriving its name from a shortened form of the Latin word ‘mandatum’ meaning ‘command,’ Maundy Thursday (also called Holy Thursday) commemorates Christ’s “new commandment” that his disciples love one another as He has loved them (John 13:34).
Maundy Thursday also marks the Last Supper that Jesus shared with His disciples, the prediction of his death, his betrayal by Judas Iscariot, and his arrest at the Garden of Gethsemane. Maundy Thursday services also include an act of foot washing, commemorating how Jesus washed His disciples’ feet as an act of service preceding His arrest.
Known as the most somber day for Christians, Good Friday remembers Jesus’ trial before Pontius Pilate, His death sentence, torture, crucifixion, death, and burial. Some Christians fast on Good Friday, while some avoid eating meat, and many attend a church service where they meditate on and venerate the cross of Christ.
The Triduum of Holy Week concludes with Holy Saturday, the seventh day of the week when Jesus rested in the tomb. On this day, Christians observe a late-night two-part Easter Vigil service. Jesus’ resurrection on the eighth day, is celebrated as Easter, marking the beginning of the Easter week, and the season of Eastertide.
Observing Holy Week
Here are some suggestions on how we can observe the week:
Join church services
Churches across the world, Catholics, Lutherans, Anglicans, Methodists, and Presbyterians, observe different services throughout Holy Week to recall and celebrate the events preceding Jesus’ betrayal, arrest, trial, death, and resurrection. You can join a church in your community to pray and observe any of these ceremonial services, starting with the heroic entry on Palm Sunday.
Together with the Universal Church, the Dumaguete Cathedral Parish will celebrate this year’s Holy Week beginning with Palm Sunday on April 2. The central feature of Palm Sunday is the procession of palms from Quezon Park to the Cathedral Church. Blessing of palms will be at 7:00 AM at the Quezon Park, and the procession follows. Other major activities for the week include the following:
APRIL 7, 2023 (GOOD FRIDAY)
4:00am – VIA CRUCIS/Station of the Cross
1st Station – Holy Child (Surban St.)
2nd – PNP (Locsin St.)
3rd – ACSAT (Locsin St.)
4th – FU (Locsin St. to Meciano)
5th – Mangga (Meciano Rd)
6th – Cervantes/ Colon St.
7th – Real/ St. Rosa St.
8th – Angatan
9th – Crossing Robinsons
10th – Old Duplamilco
11th – Canday-ong Chapel
12th – Tinago Outpost
13th – Brgy Hall Poblacion 4
14th – Cathedral Church
6:00 PM – Sto. Entiero Procession
From front of the Cathedral church at Perdices St. turn right Colon St., turn right Real St., turn right Silliman Avenue, turn right Perdices St., back to Cathedral church
9:00 PM – Soledad Procession
From front of the Cathedral church at Perdices St. turn right Colon St., turn right Real St., turn right San Juan St., turn right Perdices St., back to Cathedral church.
APRIL 9, 2023 (EASTER SUNDAY)
4:00 AM – Sugat
Venue: In front of the Cathedral church across Perdices St.
Watch Easter movies
There are many classic and contemporary Easter movies you can watch alone, with your children, or with family and friends. Great examples include Mel Gibson’s “Passion of the Christ,” “Ben-Hur,” “Risen,” “The Last Temptation of Christ,” “Hop,” and “The Ten Commandments.” These movies are a great way to bond with the family as the week wraps up.
Make it real for the kids
Children mostly learn by seeing, so it’s important to set the scene to reflect the season. Clean up the house with them, and team up to make crafts such as palm crosses. Organize Bible quizzes about Holy Week and give special treats to the winners to make it competitive!
