Yesterday, Palm Sunday, was the start of Holy Week, the week leading up to Easter Sunday, or Resurrection Sunday, which, of course, commemorates the resurrection of Christ.
It was an important time in Tudor England, as it still is in many countries and communities today. You can find out more about how Easter was celebrated in Tudor times
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Today is Easter Sunday so it seems apt to celebrate with a fun Holy Week and Easter Word Search. Happy Easter!
Simply click on the image or link below to open and print out.
Remember, the words can go in any direction!
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Maundy Thursday commemorates the Last Supper, that final meal that Jesus Christ had with his disciples before his arrest.
In Tudor times, on Maundy Thursday, the church was prepared for Easter with water and wine being used to wash the altars and it was traditional for people to go to confession. The three holy oils – the chrism oil, the oil of catechumens and the oil of the sick – were also blessed on this day.
Today, Palm Sunday, is the first day of Holy Week, a day which commemorates the entry of Jesus into Jerusalem on the back of a donkey, as told in the Gospels:
“On the next day much people that were come to the feast, when they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, took branches of palm trees, and went forth to meet him, and cried, ‘Hosanna: Blessed is the King of Israel that cometh in the name of the Lord.’ And Jesus, when he had found a young ass, sat thereon; as it is written, ‘Fear not, daughter of Sion: behold, thy King cometh, sitting on an ass’s colt’.”
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A very Happy Easter to you! We’re celebrating Easter Sunday with a fun wordsearch. Simply click on the link or image below to open and print out. The words can go in any direction. Good luck!
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Good Friday is, of course, the day in the Christian calendar that commemorates the crucifixion of Jesus Christ on Calvary, where he took on the sins of the world to restore man’s relationship with God.I did a talk last year on the medieval and Tudor traditions associated with Good Friday – click here to view that now – and today I want to simply focus on Christ’s crucifixion, the event that was at the root of all of these traditions.Following Christ’s condemnation for claiming to be King of the Jews, he was taken to Calvary and crucified. I’d like to share St John’s account of Christ’s crucifixion from William Tyndale’s 1534 New Testament:
[Read More...]On Friday, I talked about Palm Sunday in my Claire Chats video and I promised that I would share with you photos of the Palm Sunday processions here. Well, I’ve gone one better, and actually recorded some video of the Palm Sunday procession in our nearest town, Tíjola, this morning. I do hope you enjoy it.
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In this week’s Claire Chats, I talk about how Palm Sunday was commemorated in the medieval and Tudor periods, and how it is celebrated today where I live. I would love to hear how your community, church, or family mark this day, if they do.
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Today is Easter Sunday – Happy Easter! He is risen! I hope you have a very special day. To celebrate this feast day, our Sunday puzzle is an Easter wordsearch. Just how much do you know about how the Easter story was commemorated in Tudor times? Test your knowledge with this fun wordsearch.
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This week’s Sunday quiz is an Easter-themed crossword. I’ve done it as a 2-page printable PDF but don’t look at the second page as it’s the solution!
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Today is Good Friday, the day that commemorates the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, so I’d like to share the Claire Chats video I made last year on how Good Friday was marked in Tudor times. I’m also reposting the information I shared with it.
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I often think that living in Spain, a Catholic country, brings me that bit closer to life in Tudor England because their religious calendar – with all of its feast days, fasting, religious processions etc. – is still followed in countries like Spain today and whole villages and towns join in.
I realise that festivals like Holy Week and Easter are still celebrated or commemorated by Christians all over the world, but in countries like the UK Holy Week is no longer a week-long festival celebrated by everyone. Mostly, it’s time to have a holiday and exchange cards and Easter eggs. Here in Spain, there are processions on days like Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday and Easter Sunday, in every town and village, however small. Everyone gets involved in “Semana Santa”. It’s a big deal! A huge deal! And so it was in Tudor times, where daily life was tied to the religious calendar.
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Palm Sunday is the sixth Sunday of Lent and marks the start of Holy Week. It commemorates the triumphal entry of Jesus Christ into Jerusalem on a donkey the week before the Resurrection. It is an event which features in the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, and here it is from John:
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As Holy Week starts today I thought it was appropriate to have a fun quiz testing your knowledge of how this week was commemorated in medieval and Tudor times. I hope you enjoy this little quiz – good luck!
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