Today, 1 April 2010, is known as Maundy Thursday. It is a Christian festival with a 800 year old royal tradition.
Maundy Thursday was the day on which Jesus celebrated the Passover with his disciples, sharing a meal with them which we call the Last Supper.
In those days it was usual for a servant to wash the guests feet on arrival. Jesus got up and washed his disciples feet, giving them an object lesson in humility and service.
In the UK, the custom of washing feet by the Monarch was carried out until 1689. Up until then the King or Queen would wash the feet of the poor on Maundy Thursday in Westminster Abbey.
Today, the Queen follows a very traditional role of giving Maundy Money to a group of pensioners. In 2010, the Queen will visit Derby Cathedral and will present Maundy purses to 84 men and 84 women to mark her age.
You can read more about Maundy Thursday on our website
www.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/customs/easter/maundythursday.htm
Do you have a similar custom in your country?
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In India, in our Roman Catholic church, the mass is usually held around 6 pm. Washing of the feet is after the sermon. Mass ends around 8 pm after which there are hourly adoration sessions from 8 pm to midnight. Every hour nuns take turns to restart the adoration service.
ReplyDeleteMilton
At St John the Baptist Okewood Hill Surrey we celebrated Maundy Thursday with a Last Supper in The Ark (our community building).A meal was served and between the two courses our vicar read from the Bible. Communion was taken: unleaven bread was passed around, followed by the chalice of wine. It was a very moving and thought provoking evening.
ReplyDeleteI live in the State of Indiana in the US. I was given a 5 pence coin today as change in a store. Most likely it was mistaken for a dime. For me it was an interesting find, a British coin finding itself all the way to southwestern Indiana in corn and soybean country.
ReplyDeletetold reporters today on a conference call. Once drilling mud overpowers pressure coming up from oil and gas in the reservoir, the company may use cement to plug the well from the top.
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tatic kill will make it safer to permanently plug Macondo from below through a nearby relief well later this month. BP has started installing casing in the relief well to protect the borehole from being damaged during the static kill and to prepare for injecting mud
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told reporters today on a conference call. Once drilling mud overpowers pressure coming up
The static kill will make it safer to permanently plug Macondo from below through a nearby
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relief well later this month. BP has started installing casing in the relief well to protect the borehole from being damaged during the static kill and to prepare for injecting mud and cement for final plugging, according to a company statement today.