Holy Week
Palm to Easter
Holy Week is the week before Easter in the Christian calendar, beginning with Palm Sunday and ending with Holy Saturday.
It commemorates the final days of Jesus's life—his entry into Jerusalem, the Last Supper, crucifixion, and burial.
Churches hold special services throughout, with Good Friday and the Easter Vigil as focal points: The church is packed during Holy Week.
Christian observance before Easter
- Maundy ThursdayLast Supper observance day
- Good FridayCrucifixion memorial day
- Easter VigilPre-Easter overnight liturgy
- processionFormal moving line
Eucharist · communion · vespers · liturgy · altar · chalice · paten · vestments
Execution by cross
- GolgothaBiblical execution hilltop
- CalvaryBiblical execution mount
- crown of thornsBraided barbed headpiece
- scourgingWhipping as punishment
nails · cross · Gethsemane · betrayal · Judas · Last Supper · Sanhedrin · Pontius Pilate
Triply sacred ancient capital
- BethlehemNativity's traditional setting
- NazarethGalilean city of faith
- GethsemaneBiblical betrayal garden
- Mount of OlivesJerusalem ridge, sacred site
Golgotha · faithful · devotion · procession · Seville · Philippines · penitents
Revival from death
- tombUnderground chamber for remains
- Easter SundayChristian resurrection commemoration
- risenMoved upward already
- Mary MagdaleneFemale disciple, early witness
disciples · Emmaus · ascension · salvation · hallelujah · triumph · victory · hope
Deliberate food avoidance
- abstinenceVoluntary forgoing of indulgences
- contritionRemorseful state over misdeeds
- repentanceRemorseful rejection of past wrongs
- confessionAdmission of wrongdoing
mortification · self-denial · sacrifice · atonement · absolution · forgiveness · purification · humility
Focused attention practice
- contemplationSustained reflective attention
- prayerAddress to deity
- solitudeState of being alone
- silenceTotal lack of sound
introspection · self-examination · retreat · vigil · devotion · spiritual exercises · rosary
Palm Sunday
Christian observance before Easter
- Maundy ThursdayLast Supper observance day
- Good FridayCrucifixion memorial day
- Easter VigilPre-Easter overnight liturgy
procession · Eucharist · communion · vespers · liturgy · altar · chalice · paten · vestments · incense
crucifixion
Execution by cross
- GolgothaBiblical execution hilltop
- CalvaryBiblical execution mount
- crown of thornsBraided barbed headpiece
scourging · nails · cross · Gethsemane · betrayal · Judas · Last Supper · Sanhedrin · Pontius Pilate · Barabbas
Jerusalem
Triply sacred ancient capital
- BethlehemNativity's traditional setting
- NazarethGalilean city of faith
- GethsemaneBiblical betrayal garden
Mount of Olives · Golgotha · faithful · devotion · procession · Seville · Philippines · penitents
resurrection
Revival from death
- tombUnderground chamber for remains
- Easter SundayChristian resurrection commemoration
- risenMoved upward already
Mary Magdalene · disciples · Emmaus · ascension · salvation · hallelujah · triumph · victory · hope · new life
fasting
Deliberate food avoidance
- abstinenceVoluntary forgoing of indulgences
- contritionRemorseful state over misdeeds
- repentanceRemorseful rejection of past wrongs
confession · mortification · self-denial · sacrifice · atonement · absolution · forgiveness · purification · humility · Lent
meditation
Focused attention practice
- contemplationSustained reflective attention
- prayerAddress to deity
- solitudeState of being alone
silence · introspection · self-examination · retreat · vigil · devotion · spiritual exercises · rosary
- Catholic liturgyMass, missal, lectionary, liturgical year, rubrics
- Catholic Familyfamily prayer, family altar, Catholic school, Catholic education, Catholic values
- church observancesChristmas, Lent, Good Friday, Advent, Pentecost
- Latin American ReligionCatholic Church, Catholic schools, Catholic festivals, patron saints, Our Lady of Guadalupe
- Latin Catholicismbasilicas, dioceses, archdioceses, convents, seminaries
- liturgical calendarchurch year, Advent, Lent, Easter, Pentecost
holy, week, holiness, holidays, hallowed, hologram, holidaying, holier, hallow