Maundy Thursday · Panjshanbeh-ye Moqaddas

Culture of origin: Christian · Cultural

Holiday sources: Armenian · Assyrian · Australia (national) · Canada (federal) · Christianity · France · Germany (nationwide) · United Kingdom (England and Wales) · United States (federal)

Maundy Thursday recalls Jesus's Last Supper with the apostles, when he washed their feet and gave them the "new commandment" to love one another; "Maundy" comes from the Latin mandatum, "commandment" (John 13:34). Its evening Mass opens the Easter Triduum, and in many churches feet are washed during the service. It is a public holiday in Spain, Mexico, Argentina, the Philippines, Denmark, Norway and Iceland, and in Britain the monarch hands out Maundy money to elderly people.