What is Holy Week and what does each day symbolize?

By Brandon Showalter, Opinion writer and social commentator Twitter
People visit the site where the re-enactment of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ will take place during Holy Week celebrations in San Fernando, Pampanga province on April 4, 2023.
People visit the site where the re-enactment of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ will take place during Holy Week celebrations in San Fernando, Pampanga province on April 4, 2023. | JAM STA ROSA/AFP via Getty Images

Each year Christians around the world, particularly in liturgical traditions, reenact the final moments of Christ's life on Earth as part of a weeklong observation now known as Holy Week.

This week's origins can be traced back to the earliest Christians who saw the need to commemorate these last days of Jesus to anchor believers in their faith.

According to EarlyChristians.org, the death of Jesus was considered so historically significant that the Church "sought the need to celebrate liturgically this salvific event," installing a formal rite for this to be sacramentally renewed every year.

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The days of Holy Week include: Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, Holy Saturday and Easter Sunday.

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