The Easter Circle

Easter is the feast of the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. It is preceded by Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday and Good Friday.
Palm Sunday is the Sunday before Easter, on which the royal entry of Christ into Jerusalem took place. Because the people strewed the way with palms during this entry, it is called Palm Sunday. In the Catholic Church, the laity carry consecrated palms during Mass to commemorate this event. In the past, even in Catholic countries, a wooden donkey with an image of Christ on a small cart was carried in procession on this day, because Christ entered Jerusalem riding on a donkey.
Holy Thursday. Pope Leo appointed this day in 692 as the annual commemoration of the institution of Holy Communion. The name Maundy Thursday is said to derive from the fact that the firstfruits of the fruit were sacrificed and offered to God; hence it would be derived from the green herbs which were eaten on this day according to an ancient custom, which may be derived from the dish of herbs at the Passover meal. According to others, the name is derived from Karena, the fast, or still according to others, because on this day the service was begun with the words of Psalm 23:2: "He feedeth me in green pastures." On this day in the Catholic churches the holy oil and chrism are consecrated with great ceremonies by the bishop, and afterwards sent to the parishes. The chrism is prepared from oil and balsam.
Good Friday, the great day of Christ's suffering and of world reconciliation through the blood of the Son of God, probably takes its name from the Old German word klaren, which means to suffer or atone, or from the Latin word carus, theuer, or from the Greek word charis, the day of grace. The Lutherans regard it as the most serious day in the whole year, and as the greatest and most general day of penance. By contrast, it is considered only a half-holiday by Catholics. The following Saturday was called by the ancients the great or holy Sabbath, because on that day the Lord rested in the grave from his sour work of redemption, and instituted the spiritual Sabbath of the Christians. The ancient Church expected the Second Coming of the Lord and the Last Day on the night of Easter Day. In the Catholic Church a threefold consecration is made on this day: 1. the consecration of the fire outside the church, wherewith all the lights in the church are afterwards kindled, by extinguishing all the lights in the church before the consecration; 2. the consecration of the baptismal water; and 3. the blessing of the paschal candle. This, of old, was a large pillar of wax, designed to light the church on the night before Easter.
Easter, the feast of the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. One greeted each other with the triumphant cry: "The Lord is risen!", which was followed by the counter-greeting: "He is truly risen!" Perhaps this feast got its name Easter from the feast which the ancient Saxons celebrated at the time of spring. The names of the Easter woods, Osterna, are connected with the cult which was dedicated to the goddess before the introduction of Christianity. The eastern Christians celebrated this festival with the Jews, while the western Christians always celebrated it on a Sunday, because Christ had risen on the first day of the week. Great disputes arose about this; at last the dispute was decided at the Council of Nicaea. The following rules were established: Easter should always be celebrated on a Sunday, and that on the one immediately following the full moon after the vernal equinox, which was then thought to fall on March 21; should the full moon, and therefore also Easter, be celebrated only the following Sunday, that is, eight days later. In 1582, Pope Gregory XIII abolished the old Julian calendar and introduced the new one, called the Gregorian or New Style. The improvement notwithstanding, the Protestants continued to keep the Julian calendar until the year 1700, when they also adopted the Gregorian, but in such a way as to designate for the Easter boundary that day on which the first full moon after the vernal equinox falls. This institution, however, again produced many deviations. In the years 1724 and 1744 the Easter feast of the Catholics fell eight days later than that of the Protestants. Because the following feasts were after Easter, these holidays fell on different days than those of the Catholics. This had a detrimental effect on work, trade, and commerce. Since it was believed that such a case might occur again in 1778, the Protestant estates of the Empire, at the suggestion of Frederick II, King of Prussia, met as early as 1775 and united to the effect that in the future they would also accept the calculations of the Gregorian calendar with respect to Easter, and thus would also celebrate this feast and consequently the following feasts dependent on Easter, e.g. Ascension etc, at the same time as the Catholics. Emperor Joseph II approved the agreement. Since the year 1777, both parts received a calendar that was the same with regard to the feasts in question. This festival was probably already celebrated before the fourth century, but was generally introduced in the aforementioned.
The Sundays after Easter are called:
Quasimodogeniti, because the Latin Introit from 1 Peter 2:2 begins, "As newborn babes, be eager for the sensible and noiseless milk etc." This Sunday is also called White Sunday, because in the early Church the adults who were baptized on Easter used to go all week until this Sunday.
Misericordias Domini. Introit: Psalm 33:3: "The earth is the Lord's. Hallelujah etc." or Psalm 89:1: "I will sing of the grace of the Lord etc."
Jubilate. Introit: Psalm 66:1: "Rejoice God all the earth etc."
Cantata. Introit: Psalm 98, 1: "Sing to the Lord a new song, for he does wonders etc."
Vocem Jucunditatis or Rogate. Introit: Isaiah ch. 48, 20: "Preach it with a joyful sound, that it may be heard etc."
St. George, celebrated on 23 April. This commemorative day of the saint and martyr is written from the eleventh century. He suffered martyrdom under the emperor Diocletian. He is usually depicted on horseback with his armour on, and under his feet a dragon, which he killed with his spear: A dragon once met a king's daughter, called Aja, and wanted to devour her. In this distress the knight met her, who killed the dragon.
The Memorial Day of the Apostles Philip and James is celebrated on May 1.
Finding of the Cross. This feast is celebrated on May 3 in the Catholic Church. Its origin dates back to the fourth century. It was prompted by the Empress Helena, Constantine's mother, who found the cross on which Jesus died, and Pilate's inscription: Jesus Nazarenus Rex Judaeorum (JEsus of Nazareth, King of the Jews) was still clearly read, at Jerusalem on Golgotha, of which she brought one part to Constantinople and left the other in Jerusalem.