Holy Week or Major Week, as it is called the last week of Lent, is defined by the Catholic Church as a reminder of the passion, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. It begins on Palm Sunday and ends on Easter Sunday. In addition, it gives importance to a series of Christian symbols, which from the point of view of religion and history are extremely important for followers and believers. For this reason, in this opportunity, you will be able to know all about the meaning of the symbols of Holy Week more closely.
To begin historically, the Catholic Church affirms that its origin is based on the death, resurrection and ascension of Jesus Christ and that it was built under the precepts defended by the apostles and Jesus. However, there is clear and well-analyzed evidence that shows that it did not happen that way. Nevertheless, Christians and their beliefs were persecuted and forbidden during the first 280 years of Christianity. This changed with the arrival to power of Emperor Constantine, who in 313, legalized Christianity in the Edict of Milan; then in 325 AD he convoked the Council of Nicea in an attempt to unify it.
During this time, the Roman Empire lost power, it was fragmenting and Constantine thought of this unification of Christianity as a way to prevent the empire from dying; so he looked for ways to merge the pagan beliefs of the Romans with the Christian faith and get the majority to accept this proposal more calmly. Well, actually this Emperor and his great Empire were not completely given to all the belief of Christians, which is why he promoted a Church mixed between paganism and the faith of Catholics.
In this way, the Christianization of pagan beliefs was born, giving a new identity to Christianity, hence some examples of this phenomenon that Constantine achieved before the fall of his empire: It is well known that most Romans had polytheistic beliefs, that is, they believed in several gods; over time that tendency was transformed into what was called henotism or belief in several gods, but with the particularity that one of them was a supreme god that was above the others and this in turn commanded the pantheon where they are all. That is, a kind of union between polytheism and monotheism.
Consequently, the Catholic Church transformed that pantheon full of Roman and pagan gods into the gallery of Saints that today fill churches, and just as they had a god for war, peace, love, etc., the church has a saint for the impossible, to get a job, to get a mate, to protect the animals, in addition to the patron saints. The truth is that this is a test of paganism present at the origin of the Christian religion.
Another aspect that is taken as an example of the pagan in Christianity is the concept of the Lord’s Supper or Catholic Communion, which was born in Mithraism, a religion that existed in the Roman Empire and was never recognized as such. However, Mithraism was followed by Roman soldiers and was almost the most popular religion in Rome, until Christianity arrived. Within the rituals of this doctrine it was customary to drink and eat the bull’s flesh. The god Mitra was symbolically present in that flesh and blood that was consumed by those who needed and wanted salvation, since in that food sacrifice was God himself.
Therefore, Constantine replaced the concept of this ritual with that of the sacrament of communion that would then be compulsory in the masses of the churches, that is, the Eucharist, in which the body of Christ is symbolically consumed. Likewise, Mithraism also had the concept of the seven sacraments. For these reasons one cannot ignore the similarity of some Roman customs and their religious beliefs with respect to what is now the Catholic religion.
Now, after having known a little about Christianity and its origin, for many Catholics, the origin of religion is still in what happened in Holy Week and, in turn, it continues to be about much reflect on Jesus and all that happened before his death and resurrection. That is why the sacrifice he made when surrendered and released humanity from sins is always reviewed; also, many use this week to pray, to contemplate their actions, how to improve and how to get closer to God. Holy Week is what follows of those forty days that Jesus spent in the desert, time that has been called Lent, in which he obtained a preparation for what came next.
The most important days of the Major Week are Thursday, Friday, Holy Saturday and Easter Sunday, since the most important celebrations are centered on these. Likewise, Catholics carry out different traditional activities in which they revive all that Jesus Christ and his apostles lived and suffered. Normally, processions, the staging and masses are very common and also, above all, highlighting all the meaning of the symbolism of that historical drama that Jesus lived.
In the same way, Catholic parishioners from around the world join in that celebration and many make promises of high sacrifice, such as fasting, refraining from eating meat, carrying the cross in a procession, dressing in purple simulating The Nazarene costume, among other things.
Now, within the most significant symbols that the Major Week has are the branches of olive trees and palms. These were used by the Hebrews to celebrate the arrival of someone important to their cities, as some king or illustrious person. When Jesus Christ arrived in Jerusalem, this people received him triumphantly among palms and branches as a sign of acceptance as the messiah. So on Palm Sunday the celebration of Holy Week begins with a procession between songs and bouquets to demonstrate the closeness to the Lord Jesus Christ. Then the subsequent days are of meditation and reflection on sins.
On Holy Thursday, a mass is celebrated early in the morning, called the Chrism Mass, in which the bishop consecrates the oils and chrism. These oils and perfumes blessed close to the Passover will be important for some sacraments, among them baptisms and the unction of the sick; and just as the oil derivatives do on the skin a series of benefits such as softening, curing, embellishing and maintaining in shape, similarly the similarity is that God wants to work through these sacraments for the good of human beings.
In the same way, on this day the sacrament of love and service is celebrated, it is the demonstration of love which Jesus Christ made by washing the feet of some of his disciples before the last supper. For this reason, at the masses of Holy Thursday, the priests wash the feet of the parishioners who attend.
With regard to Holy Friday, the story of the passion is heard, the Eucharist is not celebrated because of the death of Jesus; but a song of acclamation is sung to Jesus Christ and in a simple act it is presented to the cross so that the parishioners make a simple gesture of adoration as a sign of admiration and gratitude towards Christ and his surrender. On Holy Saturday the Eucharist is celebrated in a night mass to wait for the Passover and the blessings of fire and water are given, representing light and darkness. There is also a vigil at the doors of the churches with a bonfire and the Candle that will remain in the following seven weeks of Easter is lighted.
The Candle represents the light of the world that is illuminated by Christ through the Passover that must be welcomed by all Catholics to be shared. Also, baptisms are performed for the incorporation into the life of Jesus and after his death, baptizing means to resurrect with Him. Likewise, other significant symbols during Holy Week are white, purple and red colours that are used in the different rituals to be celebrated; as well as the bells of the temples that sound in the sign of the resurrection and with them incense, flowers and the music full of happy songs for Easter.
To conclude, the Major Week is for Catholics, the time to remember and renew through rituals and symbols of the Christian promise to live in Christ. So knowing the meaning of many of them is essential to have a true approach to God that allows a life full of peace and kind actions, as Jesus Christ expressed through his teaching. For Catholics, this celebration is the maximum demonstration of recognition to its greatest representative, Christ in His dedication.
ALFA