During Holy Week, the week before Easter, Christians recall the events leading up to Jesus’ death by crucifixion and, according to their faith, His Resurrection on Easter Sunday.

   The week includes six days of special significance.

   The first day is Palm Sunday, which observes Jesus’ humble and triumphal entry (on a donkey) into Jerusalem to observe Passover. According to the Gospel account, Jesus was greeted by crowds of people who spread their cloaks, waved and laid palm leaves in His path, and proclaimed Him the Son of David, with shouts of Hosannas (Matthew 21:7-9)! It is a reminder to Christians to welcome Jesus or renew Him coming into their hearts, by being willing to follow Him. In many Christian churches, Palm Sunday is celebrated with a blessing and procession of palms.

   Holy Wednesday is set aside to commemorate the “Bargain of Judas” as a secret spy among the disciples. It is also the day that a woman anointed Jesus’ head and feet with a costly oil, which the disciples were indignant about, thinking she should have sold the expensive oil, and given the money to the poor (Matthew 26:7-10, Mark 14:3-6).

   Maundy Thursday marks Jesus’ foundational preparation of His death at His Last Supper, thereafter, establishing the central elements of bread and the cup for Christian Communion and confession of sins. Jesus replaced the traditional servant’s work to wash the feet of His Twelve Disciples at the Last Supper and did the washing Himself to show His love. Jesus also identified the disciple who had betrayed Him for thirty pieces of silver, though Jesus knew the whole time who the betrayer would be (John 13).

   Good Friday has the worship service called Tenebrae, meaning “darkness.” It commemorates Jesus’ suffering and death on the cross, after carrying His own cross to Golgotha, a hill outside Jerusalem. It is traditionally a day of sorrow, penance, and fasting. Many Christian churches have worship services from 12:00-3:00 p.m., the time of Jesus’ taking His last breath on earth (John 19).

   Holy Saturday is the traditional end of Lent. Today it is a time for the children’s egg hunts. There just may be a reason for that. Early Christian Churches prohibited the eating of eggs during Holy Week, but chickens continued to lay eggs during that time. The belief of specially identifying those as Holy Week eggs brought about their decoration. The egg itself became a symbol of the Resurrection. Just as Jesus rose from the tomb, the egg symbolized new life emerging from the eggshell.

   Easter Sunday is the celebration of Jesus’ Resurrection, according to the Gospels, on the third day after His crucifixion. The day celebrates the defeat of death and the hope of salvation for all who believe in the Trinity: Father God, His Son Jesus, and the Holy Spirit. Many churches have sunrise services, celebrating when the awakening sun opens the day. It is a day of celebration, singing Easter hymns, and shouting “Hallelujahs” and “He is Risen” in the worship experiences. It is not the end, but the day of the beginning for all of us (John 20).

   Happy Holy Week and Easter to all.