As I have noted before, Easter tends to be a relatively minor event in the modern world compared to Christmas, more of an excuse to celebrate Mardi Gras with raucous parties, buy a new spring outfit, and justify eating king crab (seafood for Lent!) than a real religious holiday. Although around Christmas some people insist that one say "Merry Christmas" rather than "Happy Holidays," and some radio stations blast nothing but Christmas songs for a month, Easter doesn't get nearly as much attention. No one goes around insisting that everyone say "Happy Easter," recording artists don't all feel compelled to issue an Easter album, and no radio stations play "Peter Cottontail" for a solid month. And let's just say that chocolate eggs and bunnies are not a big feature of the Gospels.
But Easter was crucial for medieval people, the celebration of Christ's resurrection just at the time when spring itself is rising from the barren days of winter. The forty days of Lent, the period leading up to Easter, were supposed to be devoted to prayer and fasting (sorry, king crab really doesn't count as fasting). And you really weren't supposed to have a blow-out party (Mardi Gras) just before Lent started, to get in the mood. Lent fell at a time when last fall's harvest bounty was starting to run out, which made it easier to give up certain things.
The days of Holy Week were tied to events in Jesus's last week of life as a mere mortal, as outlined in the Bible. Palm Sunday (which is today) recalled Jesus entering Jerusalem, riding a donkey, greeted by crowds waving palm fronds. He planned to celebrate Passover there, which is why Easter moves around with the moon, as Passover does. In the Middle Ages, as now, churches tried to get hold of palm fronds to decorate the churches for Palm Sunday. Obviously this was a lot easier for churches closer to the Mediterranean.
Monday and Tuesday of Holy Week didn't have a whole lot attached to them, but Wednesday was (and is) Ash Wednesday, a day for sorrowful penitence for all the things you did wrong during the last year and for confession of sins. Ashes were rubbed on a person's forehead as a mark of penitence. If last year's palm fronds were available, they were burned to make the ashes (but any ashes would do).
Thursday of Holy Week was Maundy Thursday. In the Bible, Jesus washed people's feet, demonstrating his humility and service. Washing feet frequently was a necessity in the ancient Near East, where people walked around on dusty streets in open sandals. Medieval monasteries had poor people lined up to come in and get their feet washed.
Thursday was also the Last Supper in the Bible, when Jesus encouraged his disciples to eat and drink in his memory, the origin of communion. Fun fact: in the cathedral of Cusco, Peru, a painting of the Last Supper shows Jesus and his disciples with a guinea pig on a platter, because guinea pig is a celebratory dish in the Andes.
Friday of course was Good Friday. Because it commemorates the Crucifixion, I used to be bothered by the term "good," thinking "bad" was a better description. But it was considered good because Christ's sacrifice led to humans being redeemed. For medieval theologians, everyone went to hell before this, and Jesus spent the time he was dead rounding up all the Old Testament patriarchs and getting them out of hell and into heaven.
Easter of course was the culmination of Holy Week, the celebration of the Resurrection. Monasteries would put on a little play, where monks would dress up as the women who came to Jesus's tomb early Sunday morning, only to be told, "He is risen." Easter service was the one church service a year that everyone was expected to attend. In the late Roman Empire, all baptisms took place on Easter, though in the Middle Ages they might take place at any time. Easter was also the time to start eating big meals again after the privations of Lent.
© C. Dale Brittain 2020
For more on medieval holidays, see my new ebook, Positively Medieval: Life and Society in the Middle Ages.
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