The mission of the Committee on Multicultural Initiatives and Diversity (COMID) is to foster our community and environment where the richness of our diversity is recognized, respected and embraced. Our view on diversity includes, but is not limited to, ethnic, racial and linguistic heritage; religious traditions; gender; sexual orientation; age; and socioeconomic status.

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he Cary Academy Committee on Multicultural Initiatives and Diversity (COMID) would like to inform the community about the week from Palm Sunday through Easter, April 9 – April16, 2006.

Palm Sunday through Easter

        The Holiest season of the Christian liturgical year is the week from Palm Sunday through Easter Sunday.  The date of Easter is not a fixed yearly date and therefore changes each year.  Following a set of liturgical rules established in 325 ce, Easter will always fall on a Sunday and can never occur before March 22 or later than April 25.  Several other Christian Holy days fix their yearly celebration in reference to the date of Easter.  During the week between Palm Sunday and Easter, Christians celebrate the events in the last week of Jesus of Nazareth's life as recorded in the Biblical text.  This year Palm Sunday is April 9th and Easter Sunday is April 16th.  Eastern Orthodox Churches calculate the Easter date according to the Julian calendar, and will celebrate Easter Sunday this year on April 23rd.

        The Christian Holy week begins on Palm Sunday, one week before the Easter celebration.  This worship celebration marks the account of Jesus' triumphal entry in Jerusalem.  His greeting by crowds waving palm branches is commemorated in many Churches with the use of palm fronds.

        Maundy Thursday is the Thursday before Easter.  Its name comes from the Latin version of Jesus' words, "A new command (mandatum) I give to you."  This celebration marks the Last Supper, which Jesus shared with his disciples in Jerusalem.  The Christian tradition of using bread and wine to celebrate the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus comes from the Biblical account of this meal.

        The most important events in Christianity are the death and later resurrection of Jesus Christ, the Jewish prophet believed by Christians to be the Son of God, and whose life and teachings are the foundation of the Christian faith.  Good Friday is the Friday before Easter and is marked as a day of mourning in Christian churches.  It marks the day on which Jesus was executed by crucifixion.  In many churches a special service of meditation, readings, and hymns remembers Jesus' seven last words from the cross.

        The Great Easter vigil, celebrated in some churches, occurs on the Saturday night before Easter.  It marks the confidently hopeful waiting of Christians for the return of Jesus at midnight.  This return is symbolically marked by the lighting of a special candle known as the "Paschal" candle.  Its use symbolizes the return of Christ as the "light of the world".  The Easter Vigil often begins outdoors and the lit candle is carried into a darkened Church where, among prayers and readings, worshippers light their individual candles from the Paschal candle.

        The Easter Sunday service is the most important Christian Holy day and marks the resurrection of Jesus.  It is celebrated with great joy, special hymns, and readings.  In many churches the word "Halleluiah" returns to worship, not having been pronounced during the season of Lent.  George Frederic Handel's musical composition "The Messiah" which includes the well-known "Halleluiah Chorus" is an example of this practice.  Some Churches mark the day with special services at sunrise.  There are many cultural practices and traditions which have also come to be associated with the celebration of Easter.

(Written by Matthew Ripley-Moffitt for COMID, April 2006)

Best regards
Jason Franklin
Director of Diversity
Cary Academy
919.228.4571
http://web1.caryacademy.org/comid/default.htm