White Thursday.... Poem by Sylvia Frances Chan

Easter is seen as the most important Christian celebration.
It is actually considered more important
than Christmas and Pentecost.


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At Easter, Christians in particular commemorate
the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.

On Good Friday, Jesus was crucified at 9 a.m.,
at 12 a.m. it became dark all over the earth, and
around 3 p.m. towards evening Jesus was buried,
close to Calvary, a hill near Jerusalem,
where Jesus was also crucified.

A day before Good Friday,
on White Thursday, like today
Jesus sat with his followers at the table for the Last Supper.
The day marks the beginning of the suffering of Jesus.
The term White Thursday comes from a Catholic tradition
to cover all crucifixes with a white robe.
White stands for holy and joyful.

Silent Saturday, a day after the death of Jesus,
is the day that Jesus lay in the grave.

Silent Saturday is also the last day of Lent.
Lent starts on Ash Wednesday,
forty days before Easter.

Actually, there are 46 days before Easter,
but there is no fasting on Sundays,
and so you end up with forty days.
The Eucharist is not celebrated in churches.

And then it's Sunday,
and Easter Sunday,
always the first Sunday after the first full moon in Spring.
On this day we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

On Easter Monday,
everything is back to normal.
Easter Monday is a day off
in most countries, just like in the Netherlands.
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Easter eggs and chocolate hare have nothing to do with Easter.
The egg and the Easter bunny are symbols of new life and fertility.
They refer to pagan fertility festivals
that were previously celebrated around this time.


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A.D. WHITE Thursday in 2019 that is on the 18th of April

©Sylvia Frances Chan