Holy Week
3
4.8
- noun
- /ˈhoʊli wiːk/
:
Semana Santa
- Holy Week includes significant days such as Palm Sunday and Good Friday, marking key events in the Christian faith.
- Holy Week celebrations
And so that's what the church does during Holy Week, is it it draws us down so that we experience our sin.
- And so that's what the church does during Holy Week, is it it draws us down so that we experience our sin.
Examples
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Jesus is in the last week of his life, the week we call Holy Week.
Blog text (5) -
In the early ages, fasting during Holy Week was carried to the utmost limits that human nature could endure.
Blog text (34) -
Once, when I was small, we came to Mexico City for Holy Week.
Fiction book (1995) -
Despite all, we continue to celebrate Holy Week.
Academic text (2011) -
Another of the ancient practices of Holy Week was the long hours spent during the night in the churches.
Blog text (34) -
But still, I take Holy Week pretty seriously, and we had a wonderful Maundy Thursday service.
Blog text (8) -
In an effort to standardize Holy Week celebrations, many communities adapted plays with multiple speaking parts.
Academic text (1990) -
Outside the cantinas, Holy Week celebrations were well underway.
Fiction book (2001) -
This is the first time this ritual has been performed... in 63 years and brings to a climax on Easter Sunday... the religious ceremonies of Holy Week.
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Thursday, Friday, Saturday of Holy Week, church bells were silenced, and loud knocking on holy boards summoned the people to worship.
Fiction book (1998)
Synonyms
1
7.9
The week before Easter when Christians remember the events leading to Jesus' death on the cross
Surface Forms
Morphology
The combination 'holy' (sacred) + 'week' (seven-day period) yields a readily derivable general sense of 'a sacred week', so a B1 learner who knows both words will grasp that it refers to an important religious week. However, the precise reference to the week before Easter and the specific Christian commemorative practices is culturally specific and not predictable from the constituents alone, so full understanding requires additional background knowledge.
Etymology
Holy Week comes from Christian practice: holy means 'sacred' and week means seven days, and the name refers to the seven days when Christians remember the last days of Jesus' life 'before Easter'. That's why Holy Week today means the special week with services and processions leading up to Easter.