Editing Maundy Thursday (section)

==Customs and names around the world==
[[File:Bishop Sebouh - Washing of Feet.jpg|thumb|Bishop Sebouh Chouldjian ([[Armenian Apostolic Church]]) washing the feet of children during the Washing of Feet ceremony]]
[[File:BlessingChrism.jpg|thumb|Blessing Chrism]]
[[File:Pesaha at Payyappilly's.jpg|thumb|Pesaha appam (unleavened bread) and Pesaha milk made during Maundy Thursday by [[Saint Thomas Christians]] of [[Kerala]], [[India]]]]
* If statues and crucifixes have been covered during [[Passiontide]] (the last 2 weeks of Lent, at least in the 1962 Catholic missal), the crucifix covers are allowed to be white instead of purple for Holy Thursday.
* The popular [[German (language)|German]] name {{Lang|de|Gründonnerstag}} means either "mourning Thursday" or "green Thursday".<ref>The word is of medieval origin and may refer to the widespread custom of eating green herbs on Maundy Thursday (cf. {{cite web| url = https://woerterbuchnetz.de/?sigle=DWB#1| title =  Deutsches Wörterbuch | author = Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm}}). The name could also derive from [[Old High German]] ''grīnan'' ("mourn" or "wail", cf. Engl. ''groan''), referring to the passion of Jesus Christ or the [[penitent]]s' return to the [[Eucharist]] on this day in olden times ({{Cite book |last=Küppers |first=K. |title=Gründonnerstag |work=Lexikon des Mittelalters |publisher=DTV |year=2003 |volume=IV |location=Munich}}.</ref>
* In the [[Czech Republic]] and [[Slovakia]] the day is called {{Lang|cs|Zelený čtvrtek}} or {{Lang|sk|Zelený štvrtok}} respectively, again meaning "Green Thursday", because the typical meals of this day were made of fresh, green vegetables etc. From that day there is no usage of the [[church bell]]s until [[Holy Saturday]], here called "White Saturday", because "they have flown to [[Rome]]" (a euphemism); in some regions they are replaced by groups of children walking round their village (or around the church) and making noise with wooden rattles. This is to announce to the people approaching beginning of the liturgy and to call the people to church.
* The tradition of silent bells also occurs in [[Luxembourg]]: the bells fall silent until Easter, because "they have flown to Rome for Confession", so children take to the streets, calling people to church with melancholy wooden rattling.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Spicer |first=Dorothy Gladys |title=Festivals of Western Europe |year=1958}}</ref>
* In the [[Netherlands]] and [[Belgium]], the day is called ''Witte Donderdag'' (White Thursday) referring to the [[liturgical colour]] of the day.
* In [[Malta]], Holy Thursday is known as ''Ħamis ix-Xirka'' (Communion Thursday) and the tradition of [[Seven Churches Visitation|visiting seven churches]] (see below) is called ''is-seba' visti'' or is-Sepulkri.
* [[Eastern Slavic peoples|Eastern Slavic cultures]] traditionally carried out a range of cleansing ceremonies on Maundy Thursday (sometimes known in Russian as "Clean Thursday" ({{langx |ru| Чистый четверг}})).<ref>{{Cite book |last=Agapkina |first=Tat'yana Alekseevna |title=Slavyanskie drevnosti: Etnolingvisticheskii slovar: v 5 tomakh |date=2012 |publisher=Межд. отношения |isbn=978-5-7133-1380-7 |editor-last=Tolstoy |editor-first=N. I. |volume=5 |location=Moscow |pages=555–558 |language=ru |script-title=ru:Славянские древности: Этнолингвистический словарь : в 5 т. |trans-title=Slavic antiquities: an ethno-linguistic dictionary in 5 volumes |chapter=Чистый четверг}}</ref>
* In [[Welsh language|Welsh]], Maundy Thursday is {{Lang|cy|Dydd Iau Cablyd}}.
* In [[Sweden]] Maundy Thursday (skärtorsdagen) is connected to old folklore as the day of the witches. Young children often dress up as witches and knock on doors getting coins or candy for Easter eggs.
* In [[Bulgaria]] Maundy Thursday is called ''Veliki Chetvurtuk'' (Great Thursday), and is traditionally the day when people color their Easter eggs and perform other household chores geared toward preparing for ''Razpeti Petuk'' (Crucifixion Friday), ''Velika Subota'' (Great Saturday) and ''Velikden'' (Easter Day).
* In [[Kerala]] the day is called as ''[[Pesaha]]'' (പെസഹ), a [[Malayalam language|Malayalam]] word derived from the Aramaic or Syriac word "''Peshai''" meaning [[Passover]] . Maundy Thursday and following Good Friday are observed as statewide public holiday declared by the [[Government of Kerala]], given the high number of [[Saint Thomas Christians|Syrian Christians]] in the state.<ref name="newindianexpress">{{Cite news |title=Kerala government releases list of holidays for 2019 |work=The New Indian Express |url=https://www.newindianexpress.com/states/kerala/2018/oct/20/government-releases-list-of-holidays-for-2019-1887493.html |access-date=5 April 2020}}</ref> The tradition of consuming ''[[Pesaha appam]]'' or ''Indariyappam'' is customary after special longer [[Holy Qurbana]], which are conducted on the or at midnight till morning in churches of [[Saint Thomas Christians]]. On the evening before Good Friday the Pesaha bread is made at home. It is made with unleavened flour and they use a sweet drink call ''Pesaha Paal'' made up of coconut milk and jaggery along with this bread. On the Pesaha night the bread is steamed in a new vessel, immediately after rice flour is mixed with water and they pierce it many times with handle of the spoon to let out the steam so that the bread will not rise. This bread is cut by the head of the family and shared among the family members after prayers. In some families, ''Pesaha Paal'' a creamy dip made up of jaggery and coconut milk is used along with the Pesaha bread. If the family is in mourning following a death, Pesaha bread is not made at their home, but some of the Saint Thomas Christian neighbours share their bread with them.<ref>Sunish George J Alumkalnal, (2013). "[https://www.nasrani.net/2012/11/11/pesaha-celebration-of-nasranis-a-socio-cultural-analysis/ Pesaha celebration of Nasranis: a sociocultural analysis]." ''Journal of Indo Judaic studies'' '''13''', pp.&nbsp;57–71</ref> The Saint Thomas Christians diaspora also celebrate this day by having Holy Communion services in the parishes according to their respective liturgies. The tradition of washing feet by priests is practiced in every parish commemorating [[Jesus]] washing the feet of his disciples symbolizing humility.
* In the [[Philippines]], the day is officially known as ''Huwebes Santo'' (phonetic transliteration of Jueves Santo in Spanish, Holy Thursday)  or "Maundy Thursday". Most businesses are closed during the [[Easter Triduum]], with shopping malls opening on Black Saturday. Terrestrial television and radio stations either go completely off-air during the Triduum or operate on shorter hours with special programming; cable channels usually retain their normal programming. Newspapers do not publish on Good Friday and Black Saturday.

===Public holiday===
[[File:ChristWashingFeet.JPG|thumb|''Christus'', by the Lutheran [[Lucas Cranach the Elder]]. This woodcut of {{bibleverse||John|13:14–17}} is from ''Passionary of the Christ and Antichrist''.]]
Maundy Thursday is a public holiday in most countries that were part of the [[Spanish Empire]] ([[Argentina]],<ref>{{Cite web |title=Maundy Thursday |url=http://www.officeholidays.com/countries/europe/maundy_thursday.php |access-date=13 April 2017 |publisher=officeholidays.com}}</ref> [[Colombia]], [[Costa Rica]], [[El Salvador]], [[Guatemala]], [[Honduras]], [[Mexico]], [[Nicaragua]], [[Paraguay]], [[Peru]], the [[Philippines]], [[Spain]],<ref>except in the regions of Catalonia and Valencia</ref> [[Uruguay]] and [[Venezuela]]), countries that were part of the [[Danish colonial empire]] ([[Denmark]],<ref>{{Cite web |title=Planning your trip_www.visitdenmark.com |url=http://www.visitdenmark.com/uk/en-gb/menu/turist/turistinformation/fakta-az/helligedage.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120309021041/http://www.visitdenmark.com/uk/en-gb/menu/turist/turistinformation/fakta-az/helligedage.htm |archive-date=9 March 2012 |access-date=13 August 2013 |publisher=VisitDenmark}}</ref> [[Iceland]], [[Norway]] and [[United States Virgin Islands]]), and in the [[Kerala]] State of [[India]].
Certain German states declare a public holiday for public sector employees. In the UK, civil servants were traditionally granted a half-day holiday (known as "privilege leave") on this date, but that was abolished, by David Cameron, after 2012.

===Seven Churches Visitation===
{{main|Seven Churches Visitation}}
The tradition of visiting seven churches on Holy Thursday is an ancient practice, probably originating in [[Rome]].<ref name="Hill">{{Cite web |title=Hill, William. "Join the 7-church visits", Diocese of Pittsburgh, April 11, 2014 |url=http://diopitt.org/pittsburgh-catholic/join-7-church-visits |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150521120610/http://diopitt.org/pittsburgh-catholic/join-7-church-visits |archive-date=21 May 2015 |access-date=30 March 2015 |df=dmy-all}}</ref> and occurs among the faithful in countries around the world.

In [[India]], the custom is to visit fourteen churches, one per [[Station of the Cross]]. Traditionally, this is performed on Maundy Thursday evening but is more often done on the morning of Good Friday or on any day of Lent. Usually, whole families would participate, customarily [[Fasting and abstinence in the Roman Catholic Church|fasting]] for the duration of the rite. It is also undertaken by parish devotional groups.

In the [[Philippines]] the tradition is called ''[[Visita Iglesia]]'' ([[Spanish language in the Philippines|Spanish]], "church visit") – people visit churches to pray, usually reciting the [[Stations of the Cross]]. It is a chiefly urban custom, as churches are located closer to each other in [[Cities of the Philippines|cities]], and supposedly because it originates in visiting the seven churches of [[Intramuros]] that stood until the 1945 [[Bombing of Manila]].<ref>Of the seven, only [[Manila Cathedral]] and [[San Agustin Church, Manila|San Agustín Church]] remain ''[[in situ]]'' following the [[World War II in the Philippines|Second World War]].</ref>
The original purpose of the ritual was to venerate the [[Blessed Sacrament]] in the [[Altar of Repose]] on Maundy Thursday night, but since no prayers were prescribed (apart from those for the [[Pope]]), the Stations of the Cross were recited.

In [[Singapore]], the visiting of churches occurs shortly after the evening Mass of the Lord's Supper. Prayers at each church consist of seven repetitions of the [[Lord's Prayer]], [[Ave Maria]], and the ''[[Gloria Patri]]''. Due to the new trend of late Mass times (sometimes 7 or 8 pm) to allow for more churchgoers, eight churches are the maximum number visited (even in the city area, where these are closer to each other than in outer residential areas) before these close at midnight. A festive atmosphere exists, with the sale of drinks, [[hot cross bun]]s and other local snacks like the traditional ''kueh ko chee''. Observant Catholics have a 'Last Supper' meal in anticipation of the next day's fast.