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Passion Week

Passion Week

1 7.9
The week before Easter when Christians remember the events leading to Jesus' death on the cross
  • noun
  • /ˈpæʃən wiːk/
  • Formal
translation icon : Semana de Pasión
  • Passion Week is a time for Christians to meditate on the sacrifices made by Jesus before Easter.

Examples

  • In Christianity, Passion Week is observed to remember the events leading up to the crucifixion of Jesus.

  • So, yes, I suspect that Peter is talking about the several instances of Christ's suffering during Passion Week, for example, at the Last Supper.

    Blog text (9)
  • During Passion Week, a saint's feast, if it occurs, will be kept; but Passion Sunday admits no feast, however solemn it may be; and even on those which are kept during the days intervening between Passion and Palm Sunday, there is always a commemoration of the Passion, and the holy images are not allowed to be uncovered.

    Blog text (34)
  • Many churches hold special services during Passion Week to reflect on the significance of Jesus' suffering.

Synonyms

Holy Week
vsPassion Week
3 4.8

The week before Easter when Christians remember the last days of Jesus' life

focuses specifically on events leading to the crucifixion rather than devotion

Surface Forms

Passion Week singular
Passion Weeks plural

Morphology

Passion + week

The meaning is compositionally built from 'Passion' (the events of Jesus' suffering) + 'week' (a seven-day period), so a learner who knows the religious sense of 'Passion' can infer it denotes the week commemorating those events. This formation is cross-linguistically and culturally common (cf. 'Holy Week'), making it transparently understandable to learners familiar with the religious term.

Etymology

Passion Week gets its name from the word 'passion', which once meant 'suffering'. It is the week before Easter that remembers Jesus' last painful days and his death, so the name explains why the week focuses on those events.