Festivals Coursework:Lent, Holy Week and Easter

GCSE Religious Studies (Philosophy & Ethics)

Festivals Coursework:

Lent, Holy Week and Easter

Lent

Christians like to make use of the week leading up to Holy Week and Easter so that they can spend that time thinking about Jesus in the desert and how he had to face the many temptations that got in his way. They use this example to think about and prepare themselves so that they can grow in to more loyal and unselfish people by both prayer and self-discipline. Christians use Lent to go into ‘training’. The idea of lent is to become more alert and spiritually alive and to deepen prayer life. Christians use the example of Jesus in the desert to try and identify what things in their lives aren’t quite right because this would allow them to be able to give up bad attitudes and habits and start a-fresh.

Christians traditionally like to think of Lent as the season to give up something for example a certain type of food like chocolate. Lent has been known to be linked with fasting but this usually means a little more than giving up certain foods. Fasting can be very good for your health, but this usually depends on your normal diet plan. In the West, it has been typical for Christians to give up meat during Lent but the tradition for Orthodox churches has been to give up meat or fish completely and also milk, butter, cheese, eggs and all fat. So during the whole of Lent, the standard food was to eat mainly bread and olives or other fruits.

In many languages, the name for Lent means fasting, eating less or giving up thus the name for it so. But the name for Lent is actually non-Christian and it means that the days are getting ‘lengthening’.

During the period of lent, Christians like to be reminded of the time that Jesus went into the desert to prepare himself for his ministry in Judaea and Galilee. According to the Gospels, Jesus spent forty days in the desert during which time he faced temptations and prepared himself for his ministry. Christian tradition therefore makes Lent last for forty days.

Ash Wednesday marks the beginning time of Lent. However, this actually lasts for six and a half weeks before Easter which is more than forty days but most Christians say that the Sundays in Lent does not count which brings the days of Lent down to forty. Some other Christians make Lent the forty days leading up to Holy Week, but Holy Week is the time for special fasting and prayer.

The Gospels speak of a time of solitude for Jesus in the desert immediately after his baptism by John. Driven by the Spirit into the desert, Jesus remains there for forty days without eating; he lives among wild beasts, and angels minister to him [cf. Mk 1:12-13]. At the end of this time Satan tempts him three times, seeking to compromise his filial attitude toward God. Jesus rebuffs these attacks, which recapitulate the temptations of Adam in Paradise and of Israel in the desert, and the devil leaves him "until an opportune time" [Lk 4:13].

Shrove Tuesday

Shrove Tuesday (commonly known as Pancake Day) is the day before Lent starts. It is the day that many Christians say their confessions. Shrove or to shrive means to hear his acknowledgment of his sins, to assure him of God’s forgiveness, and to give him appropriate spiritual advice.

On Shrove Tuesday, many Christians try to consider what things they have done wrong, what they need to ask forgiveness and what amendments they need to ask God’s help especially for.

In France, Shrove Tuesday is called Mardi gras which translates into Fat Tuesday, because it is on this day that housewives make use of their leftover fats for example drippings. These would be used for all the cooking this special day so that she will not be tempted to use them during Lent and since pancakes are a useful way to use up the fat, the day is also called Pancake Day or Pancake Tuesday.

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Ash Wednesday

The first day of Lent is called Ash Wednesday. This name has two symbolic meanings. The first is the dust from the ground of which Adam was thought to have been created from. This is taken up again in the burial service with the words Earth to earth, dust to dust, ashes to ashes as the body is lowered into the ground. Ash therefore symbolises man and his achievements. The second is that there was a tradition that at the end of the world, God’s servants will have a special mark on their foreheads. Ash is also ...

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Ash Wednesday

On the morning of Ash Wednesday, a special Eucharist is held, and the sign of the cross is made put on the foreheads of the worshippers using ash. This is to show humility.

Holy Week

Holy Week is the week leading up to Easter in which Christians celebrate the time when Jesus went up to Jerusalem for the Passover knowing that he would be arrested and put to death. The week starts with Palm Sunday and ends on Good Friday. It is during this week that Christians commemorate the last week of Jesus Christ on this earth. It is at this time, that all gospels give a lot of space to this week and to the resurrection to emphasize how important these events were. These last eight days are imperative for the Christian tradition and the celebration of Jesus’ resurrection on Easter Sunday is the heart and the beginning of Christianity.

Palm Sunday

The Sunday right before Easter is called Palm Sunday. It recalls the day that Jesus was riding on his donkey into Jerusalem and his disciples and crowds were welcoming him in with branches made from palm trees and they were shouting ‘Hosanna and Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord’. These same people were not seen at the time Jesus was led out to be crucified on the Friday. Christians are encouraged to celebrate on Palm Sunday and palm crosses are given out by the vicar in many churches. The cross shape reminds Christians that Good Friday is near upon them.

In Mark 11:1-10, it tells us the story of Jesus riding into Jerusalem on his donkey:

As they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage and Bethany at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two of his disciples, saying to them, “Go to the village ahead of you, and just as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there, which no-one as ever ridden. Untie it and bring it here. If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you doing this?’ tell him, ‘The Lord needs it and will send it back here shortly.’”

They went and found a colt outside in the street, tied at a doorway. As they untied it, some people standing there asked, “What are you doing, untying that colt?” They answered as Jesus has told them to, and the people let them go. When they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their cloaks over it, he sat on it. Many people spread their cloaks on the road, while others spread branches they had cut in the fields. Those who went ahead and those who followed shouted,

“Hosanna!”

“Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!”

“Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David!”

“Hosanna in the highest!”

Maundy Thursday

Maundy Thursday relates to the memory of Jesus and his disciples sitting down to the Last Supper. This meal represents the meaning of the Holy Communion service. Jesus took the bread and said “This is my body”, and then over the cup of wine, “This is my blood”. For both he added, “Do this in remembrance of me”. These words are crucial for the celebration of the Eucharist.

Other events that happened during the Last Supper was when Judas Iscariot went out from the meal to prepare and betray Jesus to the Temple authorities who later that evening, arrested him in the garden of Gethsemane. The other extraordinary event that occurred that evening was Jesus washing the feet of the disciples.

In John 13:1-17, it tells us the story of Jesus washing His Disciples’ feet:

It was just before the Passover Feast. Jesus knew that the time had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he now showed them the full extent of his love.

The evening meal was being served, and the devil had already prompted Judas Iscariot, son of Simon, to betray Jesus. Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God; so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel round his waist. After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped round him.

He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?”

Jesus replied, “You do not realise now what I am doing but later you will understand.”

“No,” said Peter, “you shall never wash my feet.”

Jesus answered, “Unless I wash you, you have no part with me.”

“Then, Lord,” Simon Peter replied, “not just my feet but my hands and my head as well!”

Jesus answered,” A person who has had a bath needs only to wash his feet; his whole body is clean. And you are clean, though not every one of you.” For he knew who was going to betray him, and that was why he said not everyone was clean.

When he had finished washing their feet, he put on his clothes and returned to his place. “Do you understand what I have done for you?” he asked them. “You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord’, and rightly so, for that is what I am. Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you.

I tell you the truth, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.

In the days when people mostly travelled by foot, their feet got both extremely dirty and tired. Strangely, it was a sign of welcome if you were able to take off your sandals and rest your feet and better still if a slave washed them for you in warm water. This is the significance that is believed of why Jesus did that one the evening. This has been a custom in some churches to enact a foot-washing.

During a ceremony on the evening of Maundy Thursday, the church does not recall the time that Jesus spent in the garden praying and waiting for his arrest. However, some churches like to organise a watch that is a succession of people to pray in the church throughout the night up until the service on Good Friday.

Good Friday

Good Friday recalls the dark, sombre memory of Jesus being led out to his crucifixion. In respect of this mournful day, all the churches take down their colourful decorations, crosses, candles and hangings. This is to remind Christians the way Jesus felt on the cross, deserted and desolate. During the church service, the priest will unveil a crucifix and say; ‘This is the wood of the cross on which the Saviour of our world died.’ The people will then walk up to the altar and kiss the feet of the carved Jesus as a mark of respect.

Free churches do not have the same ceremony. They have a special service in which the story of Passion is read out and thanks will be given to Jesus for sacrificing in life in order to save humanity from their sins.

All churches like to teach that Jesus sacrificed himself in order to save the world. They have many ways of explaining this theory but the most familiar theory is that the cross was a token of love that God represented in Christ; that he was prepared to be rejected and he suffered, but he still forgives people.

Easter

Many Christians find the Easter story very touching. It tells us about the struggle between good and evil, light and dark and the final victory of good. It is about the innocence being persecuted by an oppressive government and put to death, and yet his message of love goes on. It is also a story of how God showed that he was involved in human struggles and suffering, and of how God promises life after death.

Easter is celebrated in the spring time. In Christian countries Easter is celebrated as the religious holiday commemorating the resurrection of Jesus Christ as the son of God.

Traditions that are associated with the festival survive in the Easter rabbit, a symbol of fertility, and in brightly coloured Easter eggs which represent the sun light during the spring time.

The Christian celebration of Easter symbolizes a number of traditions that relate to the Jewish festival of Passover, or Pesach.

Passover is an important feast in the Jewish calendar which is celebrated for eight days and celebrates the freedom of the Israelites from slavery in Egypt. The early Christians, many of whom were originally Jewish, were brought up in the Hebrew tradition and considered Easter as a part of the Passover festival.

Easter is observed by the churches of the West on the first Sunday following the full moon that occurs on or following the spring equinox (March 2I). So Easter became a "movable" feast which can occur as early as March 22 or as late as April 25.

Easter is at the end of Lent, which covers a forty-six-day period (including Sundays) that begins on Ash Wednesday and ends with Easter. Sundays are considered a commemoration of Easter Sunday and have always been excluded from Lent. It is a period of penitence in preparation for the highest festival of the church year, Easter.

This is the Easter Story:

God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him doesn't perish, but has everlasting life. You see, God didn't send His Son into the world to condemn the world but to save the world through Him. (John 3:16-17)

The Last Supper

The disciples left, and went into the ciy, and found everything as He had told them. And so they got the Passover ready. In the evening He came with the twelve. (Mark 14:16-17)`

While they were eating, Jesus took bread and blessed it. He broke it and gave it to them, and said, "Take it. This is My body." Then He took a cup, gave thanks, and gave it to them. And they all drank of it. He told them, "This is My blood of the covenant, poured out for all. "Surely, I tell you, I will not drink again of the product of the vine until that day when I drink it in a new way in God's Kingdom." (Mark 14:22-25)

Jesus is Crucified

Then the governor's soldiers took Jesus into the governor's palace and gathered the whole troop of soldiers around Him. They took off His clothes and put a scarlet cloak on Him. They twisted some thorns into a crown, placed it on His head, and put a stick in His right hand. Then they knelt before Him and mocked Him, saying, "Hail, King of the Jews!" They spit on Him, took the stick, and hit Him on the head.

After mocking Him, they took off the cloak and put His own clothes on Him. Then they took Him away to crucify Him. (Matthew 27:27-31)

As they led Jesus away, they took hold of Simon, a man from Cyrene, who was coming in from the country, and they laid the cross on him, to carry it behind Jesus. A large crowd of people followed Him. the women in the crowd were beating their breasts and weeping over Him. (Luke 23:26-27)

When they came to the place called Skull, they crucified Him there with the criminals, one on His right and the other on His left. Then Jesus said, "Father, forgive them; they don't know what they are doing." (Luke 23:33-34)

When the soldiers had crucified Jesus, they took His clothes and divided them into four parts, one for each soldier, and the tunic was left over. The tunic was without a seam, woven in one piece from top to bottom. "Let's not tear it," they said to one another, "but let's throw lots and see who gets it" -- what the Bible said had come true: They divided My clothes among them, and for My garment they threw lots. So that's what the soldiers did. (John 19:23-24)

Jesus Dies and Is Buried

It was about twelve o'clock when darkness came over the whole country, because the sun stopped shining, and the darkness lasted till three in the afternoon. The curtain in the temple was torn in two. Then Jesus called out loud, "Father, into Your hands I entrust My Spirit." After He said this, He died. When the captain saw what had happened, he praised God and said, "This Man certainly was righteous." (Luke 23:44-47)

In the evening there came a rich man from Arimathea by the name of Joseph, who had also become a disciple of Jesus. He went to Pilate and asked for Jesus' body. Then Pilate ordered it given to him. Joseph took the body, wrapped it in some clean linen cloth, and laid it in his own unused grave that he had cut in the rock. After rolling a big stone against the door of the grave, he went away. (Matthew 27:57-60)

Mary from Magdala and Mary the mother of Joses watched where He was laid. (Mark 15:47)

Jesus has risen!

On Sunday they were going to the grave very early when the sun was up. "Who is going to roll away the stone for us from the door of the grave?" they asked one another; it was very large. But when they looked up, they saw the stone had been rolled back. As they went into the grave, they saw a young man, dressed in a white robe, sitting at the right. And they were amazed. "Don't be amazed," he told them. "You're looking for Jesus from Nazareth, who was crucified. He has risen. He is not here. See the place where He was laid. But go and tell His disciples and Peter, 'He is going ahead of you to Galilee. There you will see Him, as He told you.'" (Mark 16:2-7)

After talking with [the disciples], the Lord was taken up to heaven and sat down at the right of God. They went out and preached everywhere, and the Lord worked with them and confirmed the Word by the wonderful proofs that went with it. (Mark 16:19-20)

Celebrating Easter: Easter Saturday

The Roman Catholics, Orthodox and many other Anglican churches keep an Easter Vigil on the evening of Easter Saturday. This is a service of prayer in preparation or expectation of a greater service the following day. The congregation gathers outside the church where a bonfire is burning and the Paschal Candle is brought out. The candle has a large cross on it and the Greek letters, alpha and omega. The priest will then place five grains of incense on it, in memory of the five wounds Jesus received on the cross when nails were hammered into both his wrists and his feet and a spear was pierced through his side. The Paschal candle is then lit and the priest leads a procession into the church, holding the candle up high, and saying, ‘Christ our Light’. The people will then answer in return, ‘Thanks be to God!’ they then each carry a candle which would be lit from the Paschal candle and hold them during the Eucharist.

Easter Sunday