Holy Week is the week immediately preceding Easter or can be defined as the last week of Lent. This week begins with Palm Sunday or Passion Sunday, which is the Sunday before Easter that celebrates Jesus' triumphant entry into Jerusalem on a donkey. People laid down their cloaks and small palm branches in acknowledgment of him on this day.
The week includes Holy Monday, Holy Tuesday, Holy Wednesday (Spy Wednesday), Holy Thursday ( Maundy Thursday), Good Friday, and Holy Saturday (Black Saturday). Holy Week chronicles Jesus' entrance into Jerusalem, his prophecy of doom over the city, his chasing of the money changers out of the temple, his betrayal and denial, his arrest, trial, crucifixion, and burial. It ends on Black Saturday, the day in the grave before his triumphant resurrection, which begins Easter.
Holy Week carries highly religious symbolism, and denominations worldwide have different ways of acknowledging and celebrating this period. Many things have been affected in the face of a pandemic, and the Holy Week celebrations are one of them. With countless restrictions on large public gatherings, some holidays have to be celebrated at home, but this does not have to take away from the solemnity and the meaningfulness of the period. Here are some exciting ways that you can celebrate Holy Week at home:
Attend Virtual Church Services
Many Christians have different traditions that include church attendance, floats and celebrations, and sumptuous feasts to echo the resurrection theme. As you stay and home and spend time with your family, you can still incorporate these aspects. You can choose to attend a virtual church with the flexibility to participate in your church service or in the thousands of other church services that will be streaming live throughout the week. The beauty is that you will be able to join in the highly symbolic and solemn moments from the comfort of your home while you worship with those of like mind and spirit.
Spend Time with Family
Take the time to draft your family members into the Holy Week celebrations. As a family, you can sit down and decide how you will recognize and celebrate each day, from selected songs and scriptures to relevant movies and engaging activities, including art and craft and DIYs. Feel free to browse suggestions of relevant scriptures and articles on our Amen App. There are also many resources on the internet that can be used as a guide to your Easter recipes and activities. Rally your family together as you bake and enjoy Easter cookies or cut out and paint your own palm branches or creatively paint and hide your Easter eggs. While it is a solemn week where we honor our Savior's life, death, and resurrection, it is still the ideal time to enjoy some special family time.
Share in the Lord’s Supper
One of the very popular ceremonies that is celebrated during Holy Week is the foot washing service and holy communion. This is another activity that can be done at home even as you watch a live stream of a Maundy Thursday church service. Using grape juice and unleavened bread that can be sourced at several stores, you and your family can participate in the emblems that are symbolic of Christ’s blood that was split and his body that was broken for the remission of sins. Feel free to also wash each other’s feet as your read from Matthew 26:26-29, and solemnly consider the outstanding example of humility Jesus’ left for us.
Other Activities
Throughout the week, you may choose to plant something as you ponder on the miracle of dying and being buried (you bury the seed) but rising again (the plant grows out of the soil.) You can also use the week to declutter and do an inventory of your possessions or do a bit of spring cleaning if you will. Then you can collect all your unused items or those in good condition and donate them to a charity of choice. Consider watching the movie, Passion of the Christ if you can or other movies that commemorate this special week.
Let us choose dynamic ways of celebrating Holy Week at home as we pay tribute to the Savior of the world. Use this time to celebrate with family as you solemnly acknowledge the life, death, burial, and eventual resurrection of Jesus' Christ.