What is Holy Week?

Holy Week is one of the most important and solemn periods of the Christian calendar.

It is the week leading up to Easter, beginning with Palm Sunday and including Maundy Thursday.

Palm Sunday this year is on 13 April 2025.

Read on to find out more about this week and how Christians mark it.

What happened each day of Holy Week?

During Holy Week, Christians remember the story of Jesus' life leading up to his crucifixion when he died on the cross.

It begins with Palm Sunday and goes on to Maundy Thursday, Good Friday and Holy Saturday.

The day after Holy Saturday is Easter Sunday.

The days in between are Holy Monday, Holy Tuesday and Holy Wednesday (sometimes called Spy Wednesday or Good Wednesday).

What is Palm Sunday?

Palm Sunday marks Jesus' arrival in Jerusalem just days before his death.

The Bible, which is the book Christians read, says Jesus rode into the city on a donkey.

People waved palm leaves and cheered him.

Special Palm Sunday services are held to mark the day, and crosses made of palms are sometimes given out.

The days after Palm Sunday are often used to mark other events in the last days of Jesus' life.

This includes the cleansing of the temple and teaching in parables.

Holy Wednesday (also called Good Wednesday or Spy Wednesday) marks Judas' betrayal, which is commonly believed to be the Wednesday before Easter Sunday.

Why do people celebrate Maundy Thursday?

The washing of people's feet is traditional in some churches like the Catholic church in France

Maundy Thursday is a key day in the Christian calendar and marks the end of lent.

It commemorates the night Jesus had the Last Supper with his disciples.

Maundy Thursday is always the last Thursday before Easter.

The word Maundy comes from the Latin mandatum, or command, which refers to the instructions Jesus gave his disciples at the Last Supper.

At the Last Supper, Jesus commanded that people should love one another and then washed the feet of his disciples as an act of kindness.

In Roman Catholicism, the Pope - who is the head of the Roman Catholic Church - traditionally washes and kisses the feet of 12 people on Maundy Thursday.

This tradition takes place in other churches by members of the clergy, like priests and vicars.

In the UK, the King or Queen traditionally gives out coins to people at a church service.

What are the traditions of Holy Week?

Processions take place all over the world like this Palm Sunday one in Paraguay

On Palm Sunday, people will often hold palms to represent the story of people greeting Jesus when he arrived in Jerusalem.

But in some places, other plants are used. In Britain, boxwood or willow has traditionally been used and in other countries, olive branches are popular.

In Spain, which is a Catholic country, processions take place during Holy Week, which is called Semana Santa.

Other Catholic countries also hold processions.