Passover, Passion of the Christ Starts

The Jewish Passover begins Monday, while Christians will mark the holiest week of the year next week when their central figure is arrested, suffers, is crucified on a cross, and rises from the dead, followers believe. Easter Sunday climaxes the calender of Christians, rooted in the Jewish traditon. Jesus was a Jew, and rabbi, according to scholars. Special dinners will mark the Jewish observance of Passover with the ancient practice of the Seder Supper. Jews dine with family and friends to recall the struggles and suffering endured during their trek from the grip of Pharoah in Egypt to liberation in Palestine. Thursday of next week has Christians gather for the Lord's Last Supper, and, Mass that Catholics celebrate before they remember the crucifixion of Jesus the Christ the next day, called Good Friday. Workplaces close for three hours from noon on when it is believed that Jesus died at Calvary. Like a retreat of deep reflection, the entire week embraces feelings of highs and lows throughout as the book of Psalms in the Hebrew Scriptures best describe, while the Chrsitian Scriptures detail the accounts of what led up to the death of Jesus at the hands of rulers thousands of years ago. The penitential season of Lent ends next Thursday before the Triduum (three great days) starts. A forty-day season of instense prayer, fasting and almsgiving, Christians identify with their central figure's demise and rising from the dead. A longer, more festive fifty-day season of Pentecost follows with consolation from the desolation of Lent. Christians fill their churches on Easter Sunday, and all are encouraged to enter and attend the events of next week. Special services also mark Passover, a revered time for Jews.