The Vashon Island record. [volume] (Vashon, Wash.) 1916-1919, 1919-04-17

week Immediately preceding
Easter Is first mentioned by
church historians In the third
century after Christ. At that time the
observance OF Holy Week took the
form of abstinence from wine and
flesh during the entire week and
total fast on Friday and Saturday.
Since then the customs Of the week
have developed along n great variety
Of lines. Any elements from Egyp-
tlan, Greek. Persian, Jewish and an
cient Saxon sources have been adopt
ed and Incorporated into the elaborate
ceremonials of the Roman Catholic
church. The customs of the Greek
church and of the English church. as
well as the many Protestant sects,
show variations and changes of all
sorts; while among the people of diff
ferent countries curious folk customs
have arisen which seem to have little
or no religious Significance and which
are difficult to trace to their origins.
Palm Sunday is marked by the dis.
trihution of palms or, in countries
where these are not obtalnable,
branches of box, yew or willow. AT
terward these are gathered up, burned
and the ashes preserved for use on the
Ash Wednesday following. 1t was
formerly the custom In some parts of
England to draw through the streets
a wooden figure of an ass and rider
representing the Christ. Before this
the people threw their willow branch
es, which were carefully recovered, as
they We're thought to be a protection
against storms and lightning. In 9th
er parishes cakes were thrown from
the steeple Of the church for the vii
lage boys.
Once Called "Spy Wednesday"
Wednesday of Holy Week was once
known as Spy Wednesday and cele-
brated by dramatic representation
of the betrayal of Christ by Judas,
with due emphasis upon the traitor
GUS kiss.
Holy Thursday, or Mandy Thurs
day, gets Its name from the maunds
or baskets which were used In dlstrlb.
uting aims. Aside from the high
church ceremonials connected with the
blessing of the holy oils for the fol
lowing year. this day Is marked at
Rome by the washing of the feet of
number of poor old men by the
pope This rite was once performed
by bishops, sovereigns and PRINCES ms
we'll James ii was the last English
sovereign to perform II. An elaborate
account of the ceremony as carried out
by Queen Elizabeth tells how the feet
of the thirty-nlne beggars. the queen
then being thirty-nine years old, were
first washed by the yeoman of the
laundry, then by the sub-almoner and
finally by the queen herself After
this triple cleansing they were given
a store of provisions and money. The
custom OF giving aims TO the needy
on Holy Thursday seems to have been
universal.
Significant Church Services.
On Thursday evening, as upon
Wednesday and Friday of Holy Week.
the chanting of the Tenebrae takes
place In the Catholic churches. This
is accompanied by the extinction, one
by one, as the psalms of the chant
are completed, Of fourteen yellow can.
dies on the fifteen-branched candle.
stick which is burning by the altar
The fifteenth candle, which is white
is concealed behind the altar for a
time and again brought out before the
congregation. The whole ceremony
signifies the death of the prophets be
fore Christ. his death and resurrec
ton.
Good Friday is day of deepest
mourning in the Christian churches
In earlier and more naive times 1t was
the occasion of a vivid and detailed
dramatic representation of the cruel
fixion and burial of Christ. The eat
ing of hot cross huns on Cood Friday