Thiruvananthapuram, April 6 (IANS) Christians in Kerala are in a pensive mood as they marked Maundy Thursday to commemorate the Last Supper of Jesus Christ with his apostles.
Maundy Thursday is observed before Good Friday and Easter. It is the day when Jesus celebrated his final Passover by washing his disciples’ feet and passing around bread and wine.
Traditional Christian households make Passover bread and share with their neighbours.
On this day, Christians attend special church services. The heads of the various churches in Kerala engage in the washing of feet, which is a re-enactment of Jesus washing the feet of his disciples.
The act symbolises humility and service to others.
Another feature starting from Thursday is a huge number of Christians turn vegetarian until the breakfast on Easter Sunday.
While the devout ones, especially the senior citizens generally have the traditional kanji (watery rice gruel with pulses and pickle), the others have the traditional rice and vegetables for lunch and dinner.
While for the Kerala government offices, Maundy Thursday and Good Friday are holidays, most private sector establishment have a restricted holiday on Thursday for Christians, while Good Friday is off for all.
–IANS
sg/ksk/
